Young Writers Society

She could see how that was jarring. It was the sudden mood change from this moment and the erased moment that was most jarring to Evaline, but obviously James didn't know that.

"Fair enough," she said, then took another bite so that she'd have more time to think. She was hurrying through her food now.

"If anyone asks, say that you haven't experienced any visions here," she said. "But you have in your past through dreams. Obviously it didn't involve me, though. It involved any timeline with anyone." She glanced up at him again. "I doubt many would press for these details, but if anyone does, let me know. Okay?"

James nodded slowly, trying to take note of everything she was saying.

"Alright," he said, taking another big bite of food. Evaline looked like she was hurrying to finish, so he did the same.

Evaline quickly finished her food in silence. When she finished, she collapsed her container and began to put the items away.

"We'll leave in a few minutes," she told him, and then offered to take his container when he finished.

They both loaded up is mostly silence or the occasional question or command to clean and tidy up before they went. Evaline also made sure that the fire was out, and that her water was refilled. She did have to pry Ellie out of the grass (sand and tall grass were her favorite scenes to play in), but after putting everything away on the saddlebag, she was ready to go.

"Ready?" she asked James, who was mirroring her moves on Elliot.

He only nodded, and they continued their riding spree, leaving the campsite and the prairie behind.

Evaline lead the way, riding on the beaten path as she told him. They rode in silence for hours, only stopping whenever their animals needed a water break, and to eat. Conversation was at a minimal since she was antsy to keep moving.

It wasn't particularly hot, but Evaline had her hair up in a messy bun, not pleased that they had gone this long without bathing. The nearest lake was too far away -- besides the one in Terra, of course.

It was subtle, but the grass started to get shorter, and the dirt slowly became replaced by pebbles and then rocks. By late afternoon, it became obvious that they were nearing a cliff overlooking the shoreline.

Evaline rode towards the edge of the cliff, coming to a slow stop to admire the view for a second. "Terra is close to the coast," she said. "But it's gated away. Still, I thought it'd be nice to take this scenic entrance instead."

She flashed him a weak smile and then beckoned forward. He smiled back, just a little.

"C'mon. We still have a little ways to go."

It was nice to slowly ride along the coast, but Evaline noted how the fog in the distance kept rolling in, mixing in with the clouds as it got closer to them. The sun was hidden behind the overcast clouds, but it was getting darker anyways since it was evening.

It didn't rain often here, but when it did, it either lasted sporadically the whole day, or it happened all at once in a short time period. It seemed like it was going to be the latter since the clouds were coming in fast.

Evaline looked behind her shoulder. Surely James noticed it too.

"We'll keep going, but we may have to take shelter in a little bit," she said, but then quickened Ellie's pace, who was likely eager to avoid being wet as well.

They rode for a little longer when the first drizzle started to come down. It was just a light sprinkle, although Ellie was apprehensive about it.

"Just up ahead," Evaline said softly, mostly to herself as she had Ellie quickly jump over some rocks to get to a little roofed area.



They made it right when the rain was coming down at a normal intensity, and Evaline quickly got off Ellie and unbuckled the saddlebags, anticipating her to shake off the water, which she did right in front of her. Evaline grimaced, but she was already a little damp, so it didn't matter.

She sighed and then looked back to check up on James.

James got off Elliot with a thud as his boots hit the ground, and he swung the reins over Elliot's head so he could hold them. He patted Elliot on the side.

"Not too wet, are you?" he said to Elliot, barely audible. Elliot only shook his head a little, though nothing quite as dramatic as what Ellie did. James looked back at Ellie and Evaline.

"How much further from here?" he asked.

Evaline was standing nearby, brushing off her clothes and untying her hair. "We'll get there by tomorrow afternoon," she said, then glanced out at the rain. "I didn't expect there to be rain today."


"Next time you should ask Elliot about the weather. He's good at seeing this sort of thing from a mile away," James said with a straight face.

She shot him an amused glance, kneeling over and taking out her canteen. "I should've known Elliot would come to Earth with powers too," she said back.

James raised his eyebrows and closed his eyes as he tilted his head to the side with a small shrug. "I think I just have that effect on things," he said non-chalantly. "Next thing you know, Bubby might sprout two more wings."

Speaking of Bubby, he had the little bird sitting in his front pocket, but this time, with one of his socks curled up like a little cloth next for him to sit in, so he didn't get jostled around. James glanced down at him, as if for confirmation. Bubby wasn't paying attention, of course, to James patted the top of his head, and the little bird squeaked.

"Bubby agrees," James said.

Evaline watched the whole interaction play out. "Even with broken wings, I think Bubby is probably the single most spoiled bird of his kind," she said. "I've never seen a bumblebird get so much attention before."

"That's because a bumblebird never met me," James retorted. "Until just a few days ago."

"If I didn't know any better," she said slowly, "I'd have thought you'd have stolen him." She hid the smirk by taking a swig of water at this moment.

James scoffed. "Listen. They're cute, but I would never steal one out of its home. That would be cruel. I'm helping Bubby because he needs it."

"I know, I know," Evaline said with a light smile, but it quickly faded. She looked out at the overcast sky over the ocean. "With your help, I think he'll recover fairly quickly in Terra."

James followed her gaze.

He wondered... if she would be glad to see him gone, and drop him off so she could get on with her own life. Yes, she'd be dropping by every once in a while, but he anticipated that once in a while wouldn't be that often.

"I hope so," James said, letting a lull follow.

At this moment, Ellie seemed to roll around in front of them and landed on James's foot. She stretched in front of him and then curled around his feet like she claimed them. Her tail wagged slowly on the ground.

"I think she likes you," Evaline commented.

James laughed in the back of his throat. For a second, he stiffened, but on reflex, he took a deep breath and emptied his mind of the uncomfortable emotions and memories that felt too far away to define. It was just a big cat. A tamed cat, but still dangerous if he wasn't careful. That was the case with most animals. He just had to be calm.

He reached down and pet Ellie's head, squatting as much as her grip on his feet would allow.

"Could just be that she likes my feet," he said, scratching behind one of her ears. She purred in response.

"Maybe," Evaline said, still watching. "Stepped on any blood lately?"

James shot Evaline a look, with his eyebrows slightly raised. "I sure hope not," he said.

Evaline half-rolled her eyes and smiled. "I was kidding," she said. "She probably just likes your laces. Happens sometimes."

James laughed again, weakly. He kept scratching since Ellie seemed to like it.

"I bet you'd eat my laces, hm?" he said to the big cat. "Or tear them up? After all, you only see a toy, not two strings binding my shoes together."

Ellie only looked at him with her big orange eyes, but then blinked and looked away. It felt like her eyes saw through him, and shaking off the fear that kept trying to creep in was getting harder. He forced a smile and patted her head.

"I forgot to tell you to turn away when you do tie your laces, especially since she has claws," Evaline said. "Or just don't have boots with laces." She straighted her leg as if to demonstrate the zipper on the side of her boot instead.

"Oh, right," James said with a slight smirk. "I should've stopped by the shoe store before I came here. Picked up a pair of boots with zippers. My bad. That's on me."

Evaline shrugged. "Probably should've pointed them out, too. We passed plenty in the forest."

"So that's where all the bumblebirds worked. I was wondering what they were up to." He looked down into his pocket. "Bubby, I didn't realize I saved you from a sweatshop. Your life really got upgraded, didn't it?"

Bubby, however, was digging into his pocket to hide from Ellie. Understandable.

Evaline gave him a long look, but she laughed through her nose and looked away with amusement. "Okay, I admit it," she said through a small smile. "You were right. You did get funnier."

James paused, and then looked up at her as he fought back a genuine smile. But it was persistent, and it tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"Wait, I'm sorry, I think you'll need to say that again," he said smoothly. "You know me. My hearing's not the best these days."

The rain outside was getting heavier, which didn't help with the white noise around them.

Evaline paused, turning to look at him with suspicion. "Yeah?" she said. "Alright, come here. I'll say it in your ear."

James looked down at Ellie.

"You're going to need to let go of me. The adults have business to take care of."

Ellie didn't move, instead swishing her tail on the ground. James stared back at her. He tried to push against her grip with his legs, and she finally did get up on her legs. But that didn't stop her from moving around his legs, weaving in and out between them and purring.

James had to lift his legs up and around her to keep Ellie from tripping him.

"Okay. So. Consider --" he said, glancing at Evaline as he danced around Ellie. "You come to me instead?"

"I don't know," Evaline said, seemingly amused by the spectacle. "This is kind of entertaining to watch."

Ellie seemed to interpret James lifting his leg as some kind of game, and she lifted her paw at his boot when it was in the air. She seemed to be aiming for the laces.

"Oooooh-okay," James said with a little wavering laughter in his voice. "Nope. Not doing that."

He set his feet on the ground and started to (at least, made an attempt to) walk over to Evaline. It appeared now that Ellie took this as some kind of race, and she quickened her pace and the tackled Evaline from behind, setting her paws over her shoulders.

Evaline seemed to brace for it, but she didn't think much of it, instead looking over her shoulder and giving her paw a pat as she snuggled in to the hug.

"I think she's just in a playful mood," she said. "But if she's bothering you, just let me know."

James came up beside her, looking at both Ellie and Evaline with a small grin. "I wasn't bothered, I just wanted to make sure I could make it over here, you know. To hear what I missed out on."

"Oh, right, that," Evaline said as she ducked and let Ellie roll off her shoulders so she could lay on the ground next to her. She gave her some pets as Ellie looked up at her with satisfied eyes. "You want me to repeat what I said?"

"Yes," James answered simply. He wasn't sure how much more he felt like teasing this out. He didn't think he'd get this far. He thought she'd just shut him down or move on and keep joking.

She nodded and pursed her lips before turning to him again. "Okay, come here," she said. "I'll say it in your ear."

James had a very strong feeling that she was not going to repeat the words in his ear, so he knowingly knelt down beside her, anticipating her to do something else. He made sure that his stance was solid in case it involved physical contact.

He leaned his head in.

Evaline leaned in closely, and there was a long pause before she said or did anything. Then, suddenly --

"YOU'RE HILARIOUS," she yelled way too loudly next to his ear.

James flinched just a little, but regained his composure quickly, even though he could feel his ear ache.

"Hilarious and deaf now, thank you," he said, getting to his feet.

Evaline smiled victoriously and shrugged as he pulled away. "You asked for it. I delivered."

"Best delivery I've ever gotten," James said in a suave manner. "It's a shame no one else was around to hear it. But at least two people on earth can agree that I'm funny."

Evaline paused as his sentence sunk in. "Who's the other person?" she asked.

"Melakae," James answered. "I think she's the only one who laughed at any of my jokes. Besides you, that is."

Evaline wanted to tell James that Mel pretty much laughed at everyone's jokes, but she decided to let him have this small victory. He seemed to revel in it.

The sky was darker now, and the rain was coming in stronger, but it wasn't pouring. It rained steady, and it likely will for some time. No more than an hour, usually, but it'd be dark by then anyways.

"I guess Earth is a tough crowd," she said. "But I'm sure they'll come around once they get to know you better."

"But not too well," James corrected, pointing a finger at her. "I'm time powered guy from the past, not magicless man from Nye guy."

Evaline glanced at him. "Yeah," she said after a pause. "That would be hard to convince."

Not hard. Pretty much impossible. It was sad to think, but he couldn't really reveal his true past to anyone without come across as insane. She'd known that because that was once her.

"It's not like you have to be another person, though," she said. "It doesn't change your personality."

James looked like he faltered, but it was so brief she wasn't sure if she misread it.

"True," he said. "My past doesn't have to match my personality. Well - not that anyone here really knows either yet. Apart from you."

Did she really know James's past, though? She knew he was from Nye, but she didn't know what exactly went on in the past five years, and she knew some things that happened to him before his wanted status. She was probably the only person on the planet that knew the most about him, but it didn't mean she knew him.

"Right," she said softly, settling her gaze back over the dim ocean. She paused in thought. "If you could, would you want others to know?" she asked.

James looked away, seemingly in thought, but his expression looked empty.

"Of course not," he finally said after several seconds' delay. "Imagine me having to explain the entirety of Nye. Sounds exhausting."

Evaline was sure there were some parts of his past that could be retrofitted into his time here, but she didn't know what that could be, or if he wanted to share. And he was right: it would be easier to explain his past by explaining Nye, but that was too overwhelming. She understood that.

"I suppose you're right," she said as she watched the rain fall. "But now's your chance to be an Earth-James instead of a Nye-James."

James stared out at the rain with her, and she heard him chuckle.

"If Earth's past is as forgotten as you say," he said. "I'll hopefully be able to come up with something convincing enough if I'm ever prodded about my past."

"It's not entirely forgotten," Evaline said. "There are pictures and books and technology from the past. Whole cities too - abandoned. But... I guess no one really knew what it was like to live there except for the stories." She glanced at him. "You can have a fun time with that one. No one's going to be able to verify any of it."

James nodded a little and hummed, still looking out at the clouds.

"Are you sure no one will try to poke holes in my story?" James asked.

Evaline narrowed her eyes in the distance, pausing to select her words carefully. She figured he should know the truth of his question.

"Of course I'm not sure," she said. "The people who come to mind who would check in on you just don't seem like the type to verify these things." She paused again. "There is one person I should warn you against, though. He might press for details, and I just want you to be wary of him."

James slowly turned to look at her.

"Okay," he said. "Who is it, then?"

She sighed. "Oliver," she said. "I wouldn't trust him. Or really... anyone else who claims to have a time power."

"Except you," James said, tilting his head towards her with his eyebrows raised.

Evaline scoffed. "Debatable, to some people," she said lightheartedly, but she knew in her heart it ran deeper than that.

"Well, I am not 'some people,'" James said.

She looked over and gave him a long look, but she tore her gaze away since his stare was unwavering. She did note that he seemed to have the slightest smile in his eyes, but maybe she was imagining it.

"Right," she said. "You're magicless man from Nye guy."

"Evaline," James said in mock shock, before hushing her playfully. "You can't just say that. People could be listening." He then gestured to Ellie on the ground. "What if Ellie spills? I'd be ruined."

Evaline stared at him for a second before looking back at Ellie who was curled up beside Elliot, against his wishes. She seemed to notice that they both turned to look at her, and she lifted her head up and twitched her ears as she stared back with her tail swishing on the ground.

"Oh, right, sorry," Evaline said. "I forgot to tell you that my cat is a spy."

James shook his head and sighed, leaning back on the natural dirt wall. "I guess it's only a matter of time before people know I'm a normal man from another world. Still fertile, though."

Evaline squinted and turned back to him, smiling mostly because of the bizarre statement. It was so strange hearing him talk about being "fertile" so nonchalantly. Even she knew that he wouldn't do this when she was with him in Nye, but she suppose it wasn't bad. Just a different style of humor.

"I wouldn't announce that to the world," she said, half-joking. Because she really didn't want him to casually say that to anyone else.

"Oh, gods, of course I won't," he said quickly. "You're the only one who would get it."

"That, and the other people in that room," she teased. "I'm sure the women are going to keep asking me if you'll have kids any time soon."

James folded his arms as he leaned back on the wall and sighed. He angled his face away for a moment and when he turned back to look at her she caught a glimpse of what looked like an eyeroll.

"Hendrik," he said. "The guy I punched - because that's the only way I know him, of course - seemed eager to spread baby-maker as a nickname. Or maybe it was baby man. Both are dismally condescending, so I suppose it doesn't matter."

Evaline lightly laughed. She wasn't sure which thought was louder: hearing Hendrik casually call James that, or the fact that he was even casually talking about people in her past and current life. But, this was his life too, now. She didn't think they'd really cross paths again, though.

"I can't even imagine him saying either of those nicknames," she said, still smiling at the thought.

"He managed to make it sound threatening, somehow," James said with a small shrug. "It's probably the height. The--" he uncrossed his arms and held his hands out, seemingly outlining broad shoulders. "-- the breadth. You know."

Evaline pursed her lips and nodded. "Yeah. That sounds right," she said. "But looks can be deceiving. He's not really aggressive unless he's provoked." She paused. "But if I remember right, he didn't even do anything after you punched him. Consider yourself lucky."

James put his hands in his pockets and looked out at the ongoing rain with an expression that almost looked unimpressed.

"At least I left a memorable first impression," he said.

"That you did," Evaline said, staring back at the rain as her smile naturally faded. She paused in thought. "Speaking of first impressions, I think I actually experienced rain for the first time in Nye," she said. "Seems silly to think about now, though."

James was quiet for a moment.

"I remember that," he said. "You ran out into it when it was coming down hard. I thought you were going to catch a cold."

Evaline thought he was joking for a second, but he didn't have the same tone or expression as his previous jokes.

"Huh," she said, imagining that. It was an even sillier thought. "That doesn't sound like something I'd do."

James was delayed in responding again.

"I think you were just enamoured with the novelty of it," he said. "Since you'd never seen it before."

"You're probably right," Evaline said as she stared up into the sky. There wasn't much to see given the weather and the dark clouds. "It doesn't rain here a lot, but when it does, it's more of a nuisance than anything."

"It can be troublesome on Nye too," he said. "If you don't have a place to take shelter. Like this. That much seems to be the same."

Evaline nodded. "Yeah," she said. "That happened to me a few times. It was pretty miserable." She scoffed, mostly to herself. "That's probably why I don't like it as much as I used to, apparently."

James hummed softly.

"Makes sense," he said quietly. "Being sopping wet with no relief is tiring."

That was true, and Evaline was glad they had rocks over their head to shield them from the weather.

"It is," she agreed, then glanced at him again. "I assume you had a fair amount of unfortunate run-ins with weather as well?"

James wasn't looking at her, he was staring off at the sky with a distant expression.

"Yes," he said. "More than I can count."

Evaline was quiet for a moment. "Hopefully nothing too troublesome," she added.

"I mean, I'm here, aren't I?" James said, finally looking back at her.

She didn't exactly imply that he'd have died from troublesome weather, but it seemed that his mind went there anyways.

"That you are," she said. "And luckily, we've got nature's roof over our heads, and the weather here isn't deadly."

James shrugged, and his face scrunched as if to say "fair point."

Evaline gave Ellie another pat, letting a long stretched-out pause sit between them. "Well, it's dark," she said. "I'm thinking of sleeping first so that we'd get to Terra tomorrow before nightfall. Are you good to stay up?"

James nodded. "Predictably so."

Unlike the previous nights where they'd made camp in places that had some accomidations already prepared for them, they had to make do with what they had. Under the shelter of the natural rock bridge, that meant they were dry, but there was no fire, no lanters, and no light. Fortunately, the rain didn't bring with it a harsh cold - it only brought humidity, which was far more bearable than persisting cold.

Evaline ended up curling up on the ground with her blanket and Ellie, who seemed to act as her pillow. Elliot, now with Ellie asleep, seemed to be able to relax more now that there wasn't a giant cat playing at his feet, and Elliot eventually fell asleep as well.

So then it was just him and Bubby for a while.

James took Bubby out of his pocket to get him some air, holding the little bird in his hand for some time, and letting the little bird hop up his arm to his shoulder and back down again. Of course, Bubby was limited by how he could move because of the still broken wing, but the splint seemed to be helping ease the pain of it, since Bubby didn't look like was in as much discomfort as when he first found him.

Eventually, James put the little bird to sleep by sticking the makeshift sock-nest in one of the saddlebag's pockets. James didn't want to take any risks of crushing the small bird when he eventually went to sleep, so he figured he'd turn him in for the night.

As night fell and the dark clouds subsided, the rain let up, and the sound of rain was replaced with the sound of the distant shores.

Far off - but not too far off - he could see the faint glow of the blue algae that Evaline had shown him before.

He glanced back at Evaline, sleeping in the dark. He could barely make out her and Ellie's silhouette.

When he looked back at the ocean, he took a deep breath.

She'd taken him on the scenic route.

Whether it was out of obligation or not, he was grateful. Even if she didn't know the little things that crawled under his skin. No one did, really. So he didn't blame her.

Several hours passed, and James spent most of it pacing in silence. His internal clock was hard-wired to feel things out in hour increments, and when a little over six hours had passed, he woke up Evaline, and they switched shifts. Few words were exchanged, as the two of them were both sleepy - just one was waking and one was going to bed.

Of course, he didn't sleep that much. For a long portion of the night, he laid there awake, listening to the ocean lapping at the shore, Ellie's quiet snores, and the faint swishing of Elliot's tail. Whenever Evaline moved, he was aware of it.

Morning came with the sun, and he woke with it. He lied down a little longer, but he knew he wasn't going to get any more sleep with the sun shining down on his face. The clouds were gone, and the grass was dewey, and it was time to stop waiting in denial.

He got up.

When he got to his feet, Evaline was nowhere to be seen, and he assumed she'd gone off to find a place to meditate like usual. Ellie was also gone, so he deduced they were together. After greeting both Elliot and Bubby and getting the two of them some water and food, he walked out to find Evaline.

He didn't walk far.

She was just to the right of the rock wall, facing the ocean, and holding a pose while she stood on a blanket. She had both arms outstretched, one forward, one back, aligned with her legs as she lunged, and appeared to have stayed like that for some time, but as soon as he came into view, she hesitated and then dropped the pose. Ellie was near her, basking in the sun on her back.

She must have been excercising. Or something like that.

"Hey. Good morning," she said, standing normally before kneeling over and starting to roll up her blanket.

"Good morning," he echoed, even though he didn't know what made it good. "I didn't mean to interrupt."

"It's not a problem," she said, rolled blanket clenched under her elbow as she gave Ellie some pets. "I was expecting you to come out eventually."

"No surprising you, I see," he said dryly.

"Kind of hard to not be alerted by a horse's clops," Evaline said with half a smirk, and then got up on her feet. Ellie did too, so she went back to their camp to begin to put things away. James followed.

"I'd ask you how you slept, but it's probably not any different than usual." She shot him a quick look. "Right?"

"Good guess," James said, helping her pack up their few belongings.

"Well, at any rate," she said as she buckled her saddlebag back on Ellie. "I'm thinking we'll eat on the go, if that's okay. The rain set us back a bit and I'd want to get to Terra before nightfall." She glanced back at him. "Ready?"

James nodded, and he got up into Elliot's saddle. He then gingerly took Bubby out of the saddlebag and placed him in his front pocket, still with the sock as padding. Bubby squeaked, and James interpreted that as the bird being ready too.

They rode their usual pacing routine around the coast for a few hours, stopping around noon at a scenic viewpoint so they could quickly rest and eat. Still, Evaline seemed antsy to keep moving, so they didn't spend much time there. She claimed they were only a few hours away now.

After that, they rode away from the shore. The rocks disappeared and were replaced with grass and vegetation as the woodsy scene started to appear again. They were on top of a hill, and in the distance, he could see a large stone gate. That must have been where they were headed.

"We're really close," Evaline warned when they were an hour away and at their final rest point. "We'll have to go through the gate, but just let me do all the talking."

When they approached the gate, James could see that it was barricaded and indeed high-security. Several people in black uniform seemed to stop them when they approached too closely. Evaline barely finished introducing herself when all of a sudden they opened the gates for them. It was clear that Evaline held a lot of influence, and it was becoming clearer that her position with others was likely the only reason he was where he was at the moment, and not abandoned, in a cell, or dead in a ditch. He didn't know what the other options were.

They walked their animals closer, and Evaline dipped away to talk to one of the guards. She seemed to be asking for directions since the guard pointed with his arms.

James looked around and didn't seem to see anything that was worth protecting. At least in his vicinity, it was just a field with the occasional tree, but he knew that Terra was big.

When she returned, she beckoned for James to follow her, but she hopped back on Ellie. "Follow me. I'll lead you to where you'll be."

He did exactly that, and she led him down a narrow road, but it was clearly paved. For animals, wagons, or something else, he didn't know. Maybe it was for those two-wheeled bikes... or whatever they were.

They rode on for several long minutes, and then Evaline slowed down and hopped off as they seemed to be reaching the end of the path.

She glanced back at him, a smile on her face, like she couldn't hold it back.

"So, this is probably all overwhelming," she said simply.

James didn't know why she was smiling. He half-heartedly tried to mirror the smile, but it looked more like an unenthusiastic grimace.

"A little," he said.

He wanted to say it was underwhelming so far, but her saying overwhelming made him uneasy about whatever she was leading them to.

"Understable," she said with an eager nod, glancing at him and then the end of the path in front of them. "Hey, okay. So do you remember you telling me what you would do in a perfect world? If things went your way?"

James didn't know why he suddenly felt very nervous. He could sort of remember. Maybe. That wasn't something he chose to burn into his mind because it wasn't important. It was just a hypothetical fantasy anyway. Easily forgotten. Disposable.

"I must admit that I do not," he said stiffly.

Evaline looked like she was going to say something, but then stopped herself, staring ahead for a moment before trying again. "That's okay," she said. "You said -- well." She forced a laugh, sounding nervous. "Just... Never mind. Come on, we're almost there." She looked back and motioned for him to follow, jogging the few steps ahead. James felt his heart starting to race.

When James reached the end of the path with her, the light blinded his vision since they walked out of the encapsulated path, and he could see a big field in front of him.

Along with a shed. And a small barn. And rows of farms, all surrounding the one in front of them.

"You told me it once," Evaline said again beside him. "That in a perfect world, you'd settle down somewhere at the edge of the earth where nobody knows your real name, and you could start a farm." She watched for his reaction. "Terra is a farming community, James."

James stared ahead of them.

For some reason, this was the last thing he was expecting, and it felt like he was hit by a brick wall. All of the dancing around answers, all of the omitted information... it was just because it was a farming community. And she was excited for it to be a surprise.

Of all of the things she remembered, she remembered this.

Why did it have to be this?

"Earth isn't a perfect world by any means," she continued to say when he didn't respond right away. "But -- I don't know. I thought this would be a good place for you." She looked between him and the farm again. "Surprise?"

James didn't even know how to begin to name and label the swirl of emotions spinning inside his head. His grip on Elliot's reins tightened, and he tried to shove his way past the shock to something tangible. Something that was expected of him. Gratitude. Surprise. Something.

He didn't notice how his expression had softened, or how his wide eyes had been locked on the horizon for too long, or how his knuckles - still holding Elliot's reins - were turning white.

"I'm sorry if you'd prefer to just be told this from the beginning," Evaline continued to say in the silence that followed. "I guess I -- well, I don't really know what I was thinking. Terra is well-protected since it feeds a lot of our allies out here, and there aren't many people here, and you had the credentials -- some of it, anyways --"

"Eve." The name almost got caught in his throat. But he was well practiced in drying his tears by now.

She stopped immediately, even appearing shocked.

He couldn't meet her eyes, but he did look at her. He almost felt sorry. Sorry for calling her a nickname she might not've remembered telling him.

"Thank you," he said slowly, as the words carried more weight this time, like they were a barricade, holding back all of the other ones pressing behind it.

She looked back at him as the shock slowly dissipated. "Oh," she said, blinking and then tearing her gaze away. "You're... very welcome."

"This is... far more than I could've asked for," he said, still watching her out of the corner of his eyes.

Evaline chuckled, but it sounded a little strained. "You didn't even get to see your farm," she said, and then walked forward again. She turned her head over her shoulder and beckoned him to follow. "Come on. I had to formally request all this stuff."

He got his own farm?

James followed slowly at first. Maybe all of this really was a dream he still hadn't woken up from. Maybe he was dead and this was the afterlife. Maybe he'd fallen ill, or been drugged, or something. Anything. This couldn't be real. It was too good to be true. There had to be a catch. It couldn't be this simple, or this easy, even if it was already bizarre as it was.

Evaline led him down the field, looking back every once in a while to make sure he was following. Ellie was happily following in her footsteps, bounding after her. Evaline looked pleased and excited for him even though she was clearly trying to suppress some of it.

He could see there were three main wooden buildings, all fairly small and looked somewhat old: an animal shed, storage shed, and cottage.

By the time he was next to her, she was already talking.

"This plot was already available when I was trying to put you here," she explained. "I figured this was best for you since it had the animal shed that Elliot could use, it had a big field, and it was away from others." She pointed to the shed. "They should have supplied various tools and equipment to get started in there. Seeds, fertilizer, things like that. Unfortunately, I didn't really have a choice on what to give you."

"I'm sure... I'll make it work," he said almost breathlessly, still taking everything in with a bug-eyed stare.

Evaline gave him a long look, but seemed to take in his silence and lack of words as an indicator to keep going. She headed for the cottage.

"And this is where you'll be staying," she said as she opened the door. Dust seemed to fill the air. It was obvious no one had been here for a while since it was dusty and cobwebs were in the corners. She frowned. "Could use some cleaning and furniture, but... at least they gave you a bed." She motioned for the cot in the corner.

James wordlessly offered Evaline Elliot's reins as they stood outside the door, and then slowly stepped inside, letting each footfall settle among the dust until he stood in the middle of the room. He looked around the room, the sparse furniture, the cobwebs, the layer of dust clinging to the outside of the window.

He couldn't remember a time in his life when he'd had a place to call his own. Not since his father had passed.

He took a shaky step forward, like he couldn't decide if he wanted to stay still, or turn around, or move forward. But he knew he couldn't face Evaline. Not when he was so close to being on the verge of tears.

Maybe she couldn't tell by the look on his face. That was his hope, and his intention. If he kept a placid expression no one ever suspected there was anything else behind it.

He took just a second to take in a deep breath.

See the wave coming. Brace for it. Push it back. Back to where it came from.

He turned around to Evaline and broke into a smile.

"It's perfect," he said.

Evaline was still standing by the doorway, giving Elliot some pets before he spoke up. She looked back at him, returning the smile. "I'm glad you think so," she said. Hand still on Elliot's snout, she paused, looking out over the untilled field. "It's what you've always wanted, right?" she asked. "I know your time here is probably confusing. But hopefully this makes it a little less overwhelming."

James nodded slowly, looking up at the cottage rafters, and then back at the door. He made his way back to her slowly.

"It's familiar," he said quietly. "For that reason alone, it helps more than you know."

And he knew, in his heart, that this would give him something to do. He'd been worried that he'd be left alone with nothing to keep him busy, but he knew he could throw himself headlong into this task. Cleaning, working the fields, caring for Elliot and Bubby.

It would be enough to distract him for a long while. More than enough. He hoped. Enough to prolong what he feared was inevitable... before he would return.

"I sure hope so," she said with another small lighthearted smile. "Because I was only able to get you here since I said you knew how to farm, so if you don't, I can't help you there since I don't know anything either."

James grinned, and he stepped back out of the doorway, looking out over the fields.

"I remember," he said simply, leaning back on the doorframe.

"Good," Evaline said as she offered Elliot's reins back to him. "Because it seems like you've got a lot of work to do."

James looked at her and took the reins. "I'm counting on it."

She nodded. "Is there anything else you need here? Anything I missed?"

James looked around, too overwhelmed to think to count belongings that he might or might not need. This was already too much.

"No," he said softly.

Evaline seemed to be scanning her eyes across the field, possibly looking for Ellie. She eventually found her leaning up and scratching at an old scarecrow that was leaning against the shed, not in use. It fell over, and she pawed at it.

"Well, consider yourself transported safely then," she said. "Seems my job here is done. I'm sure someone will come by to tell you about farming expectations since you'll be contributing to the community yield, but I'm not sure who that could be."

"I'm sure I'll find out sooner or later," James said distantly as he watched Ellie tackle the fallen scarecrow in the distance.

So this was the end of it, then. He was going to be a farmer, now. With a field, and a horse. And a bird.

He looked back to Evaline, and as her eyes were still on Ellie, he studied her face, committing it to memory.

"When... will I see you next?" he asked, his voice quiet.

The question seemed to reel her back into the present and disrupt whatever thoughts were coursing through her mind. She paused to think for a moment, drawing her brows together.

"Next week," she said, looking over at him. "Is that okay?"

James didn't have the courage.

"That's fine," he said with a nod. "Hopefully this place will be more cleaned up by then."

Evaline looked down at the soil. "And maybe there will be the first sprouts of whatever you grow?"

James laughed weakly with a huff through his nose and smiled just a little.

"If I work very hard and very fast," he said. "There just might be."

"Well then." She offered another smile and then took some steps forward, heading towards Ellie. She turned around, walking backwards. "I'll leave you to it. I'll see you next week."

James smiled one last smile and bowed his head.

"Thank you," he said, a little louder now, as she kept walking. "Again."

"Of course," she said. "And thank you for -- well, you know." She didn't explain any further before she turned away and walked towards Ellie. "Goodbye, James," she said over her shoulder with a quick wave.

James swallowed.

"Goodbye, Evaline."

He watched as she reunited with Ellie. She leaned the now slightly disheveled scarecrow back against the shed and gave James one last look over her shoulder, but then eventually hopped on, and rode off down the path they came. James stood frozen there for far too long before he thought to do anything else.

Elliot shuffled his feet, and that brought James back. Just enough to take care of the animals first. Before sundown.

Elliot was settled in the shed.

Though, technically, it couldn't be called a shed. Really, it was like a small barn. It happened to have stall, big enough to cozily tuck a horse in for the night, and the other half of it was being used as storage for boxes upon boxes that piled up against old farming supplies that hadn't looked like they were touched in a long time. He recognized the plow, the hoe, the shovels and the various tools and bins stacked atop each other. The supply was minimal, but it was enough to get at least one plot started within the week. But first, he'd have to clear away the grass and the weeds. The earth was untilled and the soil untouched for some time, and though he didn't know just how long, it was long enough for the farm to be left alone and for a field of grass to spring up through the season.

He stood for a moment in the barn, as the setting sunlight filtered in through the lone window. It was an old shed, but it wasn't drafty. Musty, maybe, from stale air left untouched and unmoved for too long, but that could easily be cleared out with an open door. The roof probably needed to be waterproofed again, and the outer walls could use a fresh coat of paint, but he knew he would have to take things a step at a time. The shed wasn't falling apart, so those things weren't a priority.

What he needed to do was get everything settled before bed.

After closing the door to Elliot's stall and securing the latch to lock it, Elliot stuck his head out over the door and licked the side of James's face.

He always did that when James felt like a bubble about to burst. James accepted that at this point, his horse just knew.

James let out the ugliest sound. He didn't even know how describe it. Maybe it was a laugh, or a groan, or a cry, but he didn't care. He held Elliot's snout with both hands and pressed his face between Elliot's eyes, wishing he knew how to sob, but instead he just breathed shallow, shaky breaths as hollow tears streamed down his face.

He didn't even know why he was crying. Nothing made sense anymore. A week ago, he just wanted everything to be over. He didn't want a new beginning. Starting something new meant setting new goals, new expectations, new disappointments. He didn't know if he could take another failure and not break. But then again, he thought that the last time, and the time before that, and he was still here.

"I'm okay," he said as he rubbed the side of Elliot's face with his hand, still holding him close. "Just a few more tears and it'll be back to normal. We'll figure this out, you and I. Just like we always do."

But this felt different than the times before. This time, he wasn't wanted anymore. He was on a different world. He had to be careful, and he had to stay isolated, but it was all for different reasons now. Reasons that weren't because of his own decisions and their consequences, but because of magic. Or fate. He didn't want to call it anything else.

No, he didn't even want to think about it.

He took in a deep breath and pulled away from Elliot. He pecked Elliot with a little kiss on the top of his head before he turned for the door.

The cottage still sat there, with the front door open. He couldn't help but wonder if it had a lock, or a key, or if he would have to make one himself. Maybe it was in the boxes in the shed. But he didn't feel like searching them in the dark.

What he needed was a fire.

Beside the cottage, there was a stack of old firewood. Perhaps, a little dampened by yesterday's rain, but it looked like by now it'd dried out well enough. It would be a little smoky, but otherwise, sufficient for the night.

The fire, of course, wasn't to keep him warm, per-se. It was so he could see.

By the time he got the fire in the little cottage fireplace going, he could see the light coming through the windows fading. He stepped out the front door to watch the sun set in a bed of orange and red, dipping behind the horizon to pull down the blanket of darkness across the sky. Faintly, he could make out the silhouettes of houses in the distance. Neighboring farms, he assumed. It looked like their windows were lit up with light - the kind of unnatural light he'd seen in the cave, and the cabin.

Electricity, they'd called it. He recognized that he didn't have it in his cottage, but that was just fine with him. This was all he needed.

He pulled himself away from the last few minutes of sun to collect the cobwebs and dust the inside of the cottage. He found a broom in the shed that looked about as dusty as everything else, but it would work just fine.

Before sweeping, though, he took Bubby out of his pocket and set the little bird's makeshift nest on the windowsill.

"I'll get you some water and food in a bit," he assured the little bird. "I just need to do some housekeeping first."

The sun had set before he'd finished, but with the fire in the fireplace lighting up the little cottage, he managed to sweep away all of the cobwebs and the dust that he could see, and when all of the dust and dirt was finally swept outside, when he stepped back in, he could feel the difference in the air.

As he glanced around the cottage, he tried to figure out what he could get done in the dark of night without too much difficulty. He settled on moving his few personal items in first and tidying and cleaning up more, to the extent that he could, before he took care of Bubby, and eventually went to bed himself.

Of course, he wasn't able to sleep for hours. But he did rest.

The next morning he woke up just before the sunrise, and in the early morning light familiarized himself with the property more, now that the initial dumbfounded shock had faded away and he could think more clearly.

Evaline had pointed out the cottage, the shed, and the fields, but there was also a well next to a willowing tree, and an outhouse maybe half a mile behind the cottage. When he searched the shed again, he realized there was far more stored in there than he first assumed. As he started digging through the boxes he found cooking supplies, foodstuffs, and other miscellaneous household items, like a spare winter blanket, and what looked like some winter clothes.

He started moving boxes from the shed into the cottage, but paused to do another round of sweeping. Sweeping in the dark with his eyesight has predictable provided mediocre results, so now that the sun was shining, he was thorough. While things were yet unpacked, he decided to clean the entirety of the inside of the cottage, just to cover the bases. That resulted in him going to the well and fetching a barrel of water, and taking out some rags and a mop from the shed.

By the time he finished cleaning, about an hour and a half had passed, and he stepped outside of the cottage with a bucket full of dirty rags and a dirty mop, but now-drying clean floors.

He sighed and leaned back against the outer wall for a moment, with his sleeves rolled up and his stomach starting to gurgle for food.

Oh. That was right. Breakfast.

For Bubby and Elliot first, of course.

He spent the next half hour getting them food and water, and he let Elliot out into the fields, keeping him rooted to the shed with a long rope. But it gave him enough length so that he could wander a bit and graze comfortably while James kept busy.

As for Bubby, James rearranged his little nest by the windowsill, putting a little bowl next to it with water so the bird could easily drink or bathe when it desired.

Finally, he pulled out a piece of fruit for himself to eat. It was an apple - one he'd gotten from Evaline. He stepped outside again to eat and as he stood in the cool morning air, he saw something coming down the dirt path. It mildly resembled a horseless carriage, but it seemed to be powered by something else that pushed it forward. Kind of like the bikes he saw.

Electricity? He wasn't going to ask at the risk of sounding like an idiot. If this was one of his neighbors, or the lead farmer Evaline mentioned, he wanted to make as good of an impression as possible.

He glanced down at himself. Obviously, there wasn't much he could do about his appearance. His clothes looked out of place on Earth, and he knew his hair needed washing, and his beard needed trimming. But it was too late to fix those things now.

James waited until the vehicle rolled up to the cottage, and by that point, he'd finished his apple - all but the stem, which he tossed to the side.

He looked at the vehicle closely. It was off-white, but it looked a little faded by the sun. It had four black wheels, and a back compartment resembling an open wagon, where he had some open crates of produce, and others were covered. The man driving the vehicle looked to be in his late 40's, and he looked stout but strong, and his build was evidence of someone who did manual labor their whole life.

He had light brown skin, though his hands and forearms were a faint few shades darker, and it was hard to tell if his face was the same, as it was shaded under a wide-brimmed straw hat. It looked like he had black-but-greying hair, and a neatly trimmed short beard. The clothes he wore felt the closest to anything resembling what common-folk wore on Nye, but there was still something distinctly earthen about his weathered black boots, his simple grey pants, and his loose green shirt.

James put his hands in his pockets and watched as the man seemed to catch James's gaze and slowed to a stop right in front of him.

"You Matt?" the man said with a gruff voice as the vehicle quieted down and he got out to pull a box of various fresh produce from the back.

James nodded. "That's me," he said. "And I assume you're the one in charge around here."

"That's what they tell me," the man said as he heaved the box and walked it over for him to take. "But I prefer to go by Josiah."

James took the box, which was a little lighter than he thought it would be. He leaned back so that the weight was shared by his chest and arms.

"Josiah," James repeated. "I actually like to go by James. If that's alright."

Josiah shrugged. "Don't matter to me," he said as he looked toward the empty fields. "As long as you get the yield in time for the harvests."

"I'll do whatever you tell me, sir," James said, looking down at the box, then to the fields.

Josiah scoffed in amusement. "Oh please," he said. "You don't need to act that way around me. Just Josiah's fine."

"Ah. Sorry. Josiah," James said with an apologetic smile. "I'll get started on the fields as soon as I can today. How much are you expecting for the harvest?"

Josiah leaned against the side of the vehicle as he stared at the field in front of him, studying it.

"Depends. You ever grow root vegetables?" he asked. "We could always use more carrots and potatoes."

"With those I'm very familiar," James said. "If you have the seeds, I can do the work."

Josiah nodded. "Seeds are in the shed. Grow potatoes for half the plow, carrots for the other half. Should take about two or three months, maybe faster depending on your power."

James nodded, taking a second to process, though he understood what Josiah was saying. He scanned the field, visually mapping out what that would look like in his mind.

"I can do that," he said. "Half carrots, half potatoes."

He kept himself from saying another "sir."

Josiah nodded, eyes drifting up to the old cottage before he started to organize the crates in the back of his vehicle.

"You a handy man or do you need some help fixing up that old place?" he said. "No one's lived there for years, but it's a shame. Soil's got real good natural minerals."

"I think I should be able to figure things out," James said. "If I run into anything I can't, I might ask for advice. But I do pretty well on my own."

"Alright," Josiah simply said as he finished up. He turned to James one last time before he entered the vehicle. "You need anything else? I'll be driving by every morning if you need me for anything."

James flashed Josiah another grateful smile. "I really appreciate it. I'm all set for today, though, thank you."

He nodded his head at him. "I'll be back in a few days with more food." The vehicle started to make noise to indicate that he turned it on, and Josiah wordlessly gave James a wave before driving off. James watched him disappear down the road, and once he was out of earshot, turned back into the cottage with the box. When he opened it up, he found fresh produce that looked like it was from a garden.

James knew this was probably standard procedure, and he was neither special nor an exception, but it was strange... recieving a small welcome gift. To him, it wasn't small. But for Josiah, he likely didn't give it a second thought.

James had a feeling, though, that Josiah wasn't interested in building any kind of relationship, and that was proven over the next few days. In fact, he found that, aside from Josiah, his neighbors only seemed to watchim him from afar, like they were keeping their distance. On occasion, he would see a figure or two out in the field - perhaps within yelling distance, but no closer than that. He would never holler at them, but he could see enough to know that they were likely watching him warily. Curiously. Wondering who he was... and probably staying away from him because of his time powers.

It was odd. People with time powers seemed to be highly disliked, and yet, they were also the ones pushed into places of authority and influence. Was it because of their influence that they were disliked? Was it the nature of their powers? Was it both? He didn't know enough about the cultural and social nuances to tell the difference. He didn't know their history.

As the days passed by, James was hard at work. He cleared away the weeds, hacked away the wild grass in the fields with a scythe, tilled the ground, and plowed through it, planting rows upon rows upon rows of potato and carrot seeds. He kept plowing until he ran out of seed.

And yet, it seemed like he never ran out of things to do. There was always water to fetch, wood to chop for the fire, meals to make, animals to care for, and things that needed fixing around the cottage and in the shed. He was making a mental list of things to do.

Repaint the cottage and the shed. Reseal the roofing. Build a fenced in pen for Elliot. Build a table, for the cottage. Make a birdhouse for Bubby, when he got better. Start a garden. Plant flowers in front of the house. Landscaping. Paving. The list went on and on.

Of course, all of that was far more than a week's worth of work. What he managed to get done was impressive on it's own - plowing the fields and planting them, cleaning out the cottage and the shed, and keeping up with the day-to-day needs had proven to be enough to keep him busy for the time being. He would pick one project at a time.

On the seventh day, he had finally finished planting the last of the potato seeds by noontime, and he took a break to eat and check on Elliot and Bubby. He'd been keeping track of the days so that he didn't lose track of how long he'd been on the farm, or how long he'd been on earth. He'd hung a paper up on the cottage wall, marking each day that passed. He still thought in the lunar cycles of Nye, but a day was a day, both on Earth, and on Nye.

It was early in the evening, and James had started chopping wood. There was a sawed-off stump by the shed that was perfect for splitting wood, so he kept his fresh stack there, and was chopping away when he caught sight of something moving down the road.

The sun would set soon, and the sky was getting just a little warmer in hue, but as the figure came closer, he was able to make out clearly who it was. He recognized Ellie first actually, because of the feline's unique gait and silhouette.

Evaline had come back.

For a moment, James had almost forgotten where he was. He looked down at the axe in his hands, his pants with their dirt-stained knees, and his sweaty self. For a split second, he felt what was like a near-foreign urge to try to hastily clean himself up, or at least check what he looked like, but he knew it would be useless anyway.

He kept an eye on the shadowy figure as it came closer, and he occupied himself by splitting a few more logs until she was close enough to actually see, riding atop Ellie. He then threw the axe into the ground by the stump and picked up a few pieces of wood, which he hastily carried over to the side of the cottage and dumped before walking back out front. By that time, Evaline was only a few feet away. She had hopped off Ellie and was walking closer, this time holding her leash so that she didn't wander off again. It looked like she was wearing something else - though it resembled her old clothes in both style and practicality. She had a bag slung over her shoulder.

He bowed his head by way of greeting.

"Hey," she said as she gave him a small wave and a small smile. "Back as promised."

James mirrored her small smile. "It's good to see you."

Evaline nodded and gestured out to the fields as Ellie obediently stayed by her feet, tail swishing behind her. "I see you've been busy."

"I figure I should take care of the things I've been given," he said with a small nod. "It feels good, doing this kind of work again."

"I'm really glad to hear that," Evaline said with a softer smile. "No troubles with anything?"

"Only Bubby chirping at odd hours of the night," James said with a little lighthearted smile. "I think I'm going to have to pull back a bit on the smothering. He's getting a little needy. But it seems like he's getting better slowly."

Evaline airily laughed, patting Ellie as she rubbed her head against her leg, almost like she was contesting who was the neediest animal.

"I knew Bubby would get better with you at Terra," she said, then looked over at Elliot grazing. "Elliot's okay too, I assume? And you?"

"Oh, Elliot has it easy," James said, looking over at Elliot. "Try not to get too fat!" he shouted, but of course, Elliot didn't reply. He just kept grazing.

"He needs a good run after this," James said to Evaline like it was an aside.

Evaline looked at him with a raised brow and an upturned smile. "I don't think I've ever heard you shout," she said. "And I didn't think I'd first hear it in the context of Elliot getting fat."

James stared at her blankly, only for a second, as his mind searched - seemingly without his consent - for moments he did shout. The only things that came to mind as equivalents were in memories she'd erased. Gods, he just loved how that kept popping up again.

In complete contrast to his thoughts, he smiled a little and shrugged. "Well, someone has to heckle him. Or else all the flattery just goes straight to his head. Or I should say, his stomach."

"Riiight," she said back, but she still seemed to enjoy the joke by her expression. She then slid the bag she was wearing to her front.

"I've got you a few gifts," she said. "You know, because you saved all your money to finally achieve your dream of getting a farm. Feats like that can't go unrecognized."

James looked at her face, then at her bag. "Please, don't patronize me. I'm broke as hell, and you know it."

"Oh right," she said as she unbuttoned the bag but didn't take out whatever was inside yet. "Does that mean you should pay me for these items?"

"Come back in two months and I can pay you in carrots," he said. "Besides, when did you start caring about money?"

"Just now," she said. "So I, too, could heckle you."

James narrowed his eyes at her, suppressing a smile. "Harassment. I missed that."

Evaline smirked and twirled her hand in the air. "I'm here all day," she said. "And by all day, I really mean until sundown, so let's make this quick."

She pulled out the first item. Or rather, items. They were various books of different sizes. Of course she remembered he liked to read.

"I got you a couple of books so you could get more familiar with Earth," she said. "I figured this was easier than than me telling you everything."

And of course the books were practical.

She flipped through a few before handing it to him. "Some nature books. Some about the background of the current lands. There aren't a lot of up-to-date books about things that are more relevant, but I did find plenty of books about the past to help you with your backstory."

He looked through the books in his hands as she talked, skimming the titles.

"I figured you'd like those books more," she said. "It's not Nye history, but you may find them more interesting."

"Oh, trust me, anything helps," he said as he flipped one of the books open for a moment. But he didn't want to sully the pages with his dirty hands, so he shut it. "I'll enjoy reading these for sure."

"Don't read it too fast," she said as she dug through her bag again, giving him one last book. "They're heavy and it took me a while to even find them."

"That's a big ask," he said, taking the book and looking up at her with the hint of a smile. "But I will read them extra slowly just for you."

She glanced up at him, offering a gentle smile back. "My shoulders thank you," she said.

Evaline then pulled out the next item. Clothes.

She glanced at his current outfit first. "I didn't think they'd have spare clothes in Terra, and looks like I was right," she said, handing the small stack of folded clothes to him. "It's nothing special, but it'll help you fit in more."

Ah, yes. Fitting in with his talkative neighbors.

He took the stack of clothes, looking them over. They were pretty monochromatic. There were some dark pants, green shirts of different hues. Some were short sleeved, long sleeved, or sleeveless. At the bottom of the stack was a dark jacket, and some simple socks and boxers folded in. It covered all the basics.

And now his arms were quite full.

"I'll look just like a regular Earth farmer. These are perfect. Thank you."

"You're very welcome," she said, looking pleased that he seemed to like it. "Now you can play and look the part."

James hummed, and offered her another small smile. He decided not to mention how no one besides Josiah had even spoken to him.

"Is that all?" he asked. "For the gifts, I mean. There's only so much more I can carry."

"Oh. Right." She glanced at his cottage. "I've got a few small things left, but I can help carry some of that back to your house if you'd like."

"Let's walk over there," he said with a nod of his head in that direction. He started walking, and she followed.

"Did you make or get anything new to put in there, or does it still only have a bed?" she asked as they walked.

"I'm thinking I'll build furniture gradually, but I'm in no rush. There's a fireplace, and a wood stove, though. And those work just fine," he answered.

Evaline nodded. "I'm glad that this plot of land was open when I was organizing this. Apparently, it's the oldest one so and least up-to-date, but I thought that would make you feel more at home."

"I do appreciate the simplicity," he said as they made it to the door. He adjusted the pile of books and clothes into one arm and pushed the door open with his free hand. "It makes things a little less overwhelming."

"One sec," Evaline said, quickly tying Ellie's leash on a wooden beam near the door before she went inside. "I wouldn't want her digging through your carrot field."

When finished, she walked past him to go inside, nodding as a thanks as he opened the door. She took a few steps in and looked around.

"I see you've really cleaned up the place," she commented.

"Yes, I've been keeping busy," James said as he stepped in and walked over to the cot - which now had his blankets neatly draped over it, and set the books and clothes on the end for the time being. He turned around to her.

"Bubby, you'll see, is sitting comfortably on the windowsill."

He gestured to the little nest and water bowl where Bubby was comfortably sleeping at the moment.

Evaline turned to the windowsill, watching the little bird curl up in a little ball with what appeared to be a sock used as a nest.

"How nice that your one and only roommate keeps to himself against the window," she said, tempted to give him a poke, but not wanting to wake him up.

James laughed through his nose. "His only flaw is that he's a bit of a night owl."

Evaline smirked at the thought of James being awaken at the middle of the night because Bubby was screaming for attention like a baby. It made her wonder if bumblebirds were truly nocturnal. Now that she was thinking about it, the biggest swarms she had seen had always come out at night.

She reached in her bag, but stopped as another question crossed her mind.

"Have you been sleeping comfortably here?" she asked, turning back to him. "Aside from Bubby screeching in the middle of the night, that is."

James felt the lie slip out before he could think to say anything otherwise.

"Oh, yes," he said with a small smile. "It's been fine. It's quiet and peaceful, and the cot is just as hard as the ground I'm used to sleeping on, which helps."

Evaline nodded, glancing at the cot. She had no idea if that meant James thought it was comfortable, or if he truly liked that it was as hard as the ground.

"I can probably arrange for a more comfortable bed if you'd like," she said. "Anything to promote more sleep."

"Gods, no, no, it's fine," James said quickly. "Besides I - I don't want to keep you here too late. You said you needed to get going by sundown?"