Young Writers Society

Evaline sighed, thinking about everything that could go wrong.

If they were to get ambushed, she was certain she could go back in time to avoid them. The exception to that was if the event was unavoidable, which wasn't exactly something she had completely figured out, but she knew she couldn't change everything. Many bandits with a thought-out strategic plan, for instance, may be unavoidable.

But it didn't mean that she could avoid getting hurt, or avoid James getting hurt.

"Okay," she said, looking up to meet his gaze. "Let's say we get attacked by one person who has a weapon. What then?"

James sighed and glanced up at the darkening sand-filled sky in thought.

"It depends on what weapon," James said. "And it depends on what they want."

He paused, as a million hypothetical situations started rolling through his head.

"Say, if one person approaches with a gun, they'll only be able to aim it at one of us, but they'll be using that as leverage. If all they want is to steal our supplies, or just take Elliot entirely, their attentions will be torn between making the exchange and keeping a gun pinned on one of us at all times. In situations like that, with only one person to worry about, and one gun, our best bet is to have one of us cause a distraction so that the thief feels the other person is more of a threat. In their moment of indecision, one of us strikes. Moments like that, you have to be fast.

"For example, say, a thief comes, pins the gun on you, tells me to untie Elliot and hand him over, or just untie him and walk away. I could start to untie, but pull out my knife and throw it at them. And, well, I never put reasoning with them off the table, but really, it depends on the person and their approach. Some people are willing to strike a deal and not hurt you. Others aren't interested in talking."

Evaline listened to James intently, noting that he put a great deal of thought into this. He did come from a military background, so this didn't necessarily surprise her.

"And if there are two thieves?" she asked. "Or three?"

"Again, things change a lot depending on what weapons they have. In our situation, all of my weapons were taken when Butch captured me, aside from a dagger and a knife that was buried in Elliot's saddlebags. He didn't really bother with--" he stopped, cutting himself off before he branched off of the topic.

"And it depends on their builds, too, and how skilled they are at fighting. But we'd have to work with what we have. I'd do my best to assess who was the weakest of the group, and take care of them first. When the numbers against you increase, sometimes it's better to take out as many as you can before--"

He sighed, looking back at Evaline.

"I know that I could handle myself against a few people if necessary. My intentions would be to disarm and knock them out, or just take their weapons if I couldn't manage to get a clean hit or knock them out. I know concussions are terrible but they're arguably worse than dying, and while I'm not beyond doing what I have to do to keep the two of us safe, taking a life is not something I carry lightly. And as for you," he said, turning to look back at Evaline. He looked at her with a sober intensity.

"Don't hold anything back. The people out here can be ruthless and cruel, and you can't expect them to show you mercy. Yes, they are people too, but never assume that they won't take advantage of you."

Evaline watched James talk with a raised brow the entire time as he bounced between topics without her prompting it. This was probably the most he had talked in one sitting all week, and it was about fighting and surviving.

Somehow, this also didn't surprise her.

She tried to keep up with his thoughts, but she shelved them for now since conversation moved fast.

"Define 'don't hold anything back,'" she said, deciding to let him steer control of the vague statements and questions.

"Fight as dirty as your conscience allows it," James said, meeting her eyes sternly. He tore his gaze away and looked back to Elliot, continuing to brush again.

"I can give you my knife," he said, already having decided it. "It's better to have something. Hide it somewhere on you where you can easily access it in case you get grappled or are in close combat. They'll probably be watching your hands and try and stop you from grabbing anything, but if you can pull it out before they get to you and, well," he paused, turning to her again. He held the brush in his hand, pretending it was a weapon, and held it in his palm, lining it up with his arm. "You could conceal it from a certain angle," he explained, twisting his arm to demonstrate.

He paused again, his mind racing. The moment she said the word unprepared, his mind was rushing to think of ways to prepare.

He looked down at the brush in his hand, then up at Evaline.

"You said you knew self-defense, right?" asked.

It almost seemed like Evaline was talking without even talking. She only really wanted to hear his opinions on what might happen so she could mentally prepare, but, well, sure, she could use a knife. Actually, yes, that would be good, considering she had zero weapons and had a feeling that whoever she may face in the future would likely far exceed her own physical strength. It would be good to have something in case she found herself in a tough spot and couldn't undo events.

She blinked when James stopped talking, realizing that he had asked her a question.

"I know self-defense, but not anything too offensive," she said. "Just enough to run away from a situation if I need to."

She paused, remembering when Reed grabbed her behind the tree all those weeks ago, and there was nothing she could do because he was too strong.

"Although, it can be tough if my opponent is bigger and stronger than me," she added. "In that case, I'd just try escaping."

Or undo it and try again, she thought to herself, but this wasn't particularly useful for James.

James paused for a moment and took in a deep breath. He looked at the firelight dancing on the canyon wall, and then glanced back at Elliot for a moment.

"I think I should teach you some things, then," James said. "You might have to show me what exactly you know because I don't know how extensive 'self-defense' is on earth, but there are a few things that would likely be useful to you. How to escape certain holds, how to disarm someone holding a knife, or a gun. And like you said, what to do when you're up against someone bigger and stronger than you. It'll be far from what you'd get from years of training, but if we start now, it's better than nothing. The sooner you can begin to write things into your muscle memory the better. I'm only sorry I didn't think to do so sooner."

"I..." Evaline began, but then shook her head. "Yeah. Okay," she said, getting up on her feet. She had a feeling James was going to be adamant that she learned whatever he had in mind.

She also wasn't keen on the idea of showing James what she knew. Clearly he was a good fighter, but he was also wounded, and she didn't want to accidentally hurt him.

"I can get out of simpler holds, like if someone grabbed my wrist, or grabbed me from the front or behind," she said, deciding to just explain it instead. "I also do know how to disarm a gun. And how to do some simple offensive moves, enough to knock someone over in time to get out of their grasp and escape."

James nodded, and sighed, putting the brush back in the bag for the moment.

"Alright. Let's brush up on that first then," he said, patting Elliot before turning to Elliot. "I want to see how quick your reflexes are because that can change everything in a fight. Is it alright if I come at you and you just do what comes to you based on what you've been trained in so I can get a baseline on what to build off of?"

"Sure," Evaline said after a brief hesitation, slowly walking over. She stopped midway and looked at him up and down. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" she asked, but he could tell by her glance that she was referencing that she didn't want to hurt him.

"I believe these things are better done in practice," James said. "I'll be fine."

She nodded. "Okay then. Try me."

James walked over and put his hand on her shoulder, starting with something simple. Someone wasn't likely to come up to her and casually put their hand on her shoulder in a fight, but it could easily be used for intimidation, especially by someone taller and larger.

"Get me out of your way," he said.

Evaline didn't even hesitate like she had experience with this before. She grabbed his wrist and shoulder and swung his arm around, although she didn't do it at a speed that matched an actual fight. She was able to swing herself out of his grip, but then she slightly bent down and user her hands to lightly push down on his knees.

"I'm not going to try it, but I'd push down here so that you'd buckle and be on the ground," she explained, looking up at him.

"I appreciate the courtesy," James said, and then she nodded and let go, slipping under his arms so she was standing in front of him again.

He could feel the impact of her previous motion throughout his arm. If he were in the heat of a fight, adrenaline might've dulled the sensation of pain, but like he said. This was necessary, and he could endure it.

Once he was steady on his feet again he grabbed for her wrist.

"Again," he said simply.

He remembered her saying that she already knew how to get out of this grip, and it showed. She put her hand over his knuckles and swung his arm around, slowly again so that he let go. She put her other hand over his hand in a position where if she applied pressure, his body would instinctively push down to avoid breaking anything.

Thankfully, she didn't do this and only explained.

"I'd push down here, and you'd again fall to the ground until I let go, or something else happens," she said, then let go of him and took a step back again.

"Good," he said with a nod. "Now I'm going to come back at you from behind."

He came around her and grabbed her over her chest, but not quite a chokehold - though it could turn into one if she wasn't fast enough.

Since she knew how to put others in a chokehold, he figured she may know how to get out of one. He felt her squat down as she turned her neck and quickly ducked under his arms. She was out of his grip already, but she truly did mean it when she said she knew self-defense movies enough to buy time and run away because she then grabbed behind his knees again.

"And again here," she explained. "Pushing behind your knee here would lose your balance and knock you down." She then let go and stepped back.

James nodded and steadied his stance again. "Good," was his simple affirmation. Without announcement, he came back around to the front and went in to grab her neck for a two-handed choke. If he managed to grab her, it would be more difficult.

She seemed to know how to get out of it though, as she immediately bowed her head in the right direction and escaped.

"That one isn't as hard as it seemed," she commented.

"What would you do if I had you pinned against a wall?" James asked. "Would you know what to do?"

Evaline hesitated. "I'm not sure," she admitted. "I've never learned that, nor has it ever happened."

"Well, let me show you then," he said. He gestured to the cavern wall. "Back up."

James had his hand around her neck against the wall, and although Evaline had no reason to, a wave of panic washed through her. They were still close to the fire, but it was dark enough to not make out his entire face. And although he didn't apply pressure around her neck, it still felt like she was trapped and being attacked.

Luckily, James was slowly walking her through it.

"The first think you'll do is focus. Calm down. Release tension. When you are ready, take your hand and push off my wrist. Make sure you push in the direction opposite of my fingers, otherwise you will add to the tension."

"Like this?" she said as she pushed his hand as told.

"Yes, but harder so that you disengage me."

She did that, and was able to slap his arm away, although she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do after that.

"Now swing your arm around my neck so that you'd be putting me in a chokehold," James continued to explain.

The pieces were fitting together, and she followed his instructions so that her elbow was around his neck.

"Good," he said. "That was right. Let's run through that again, but faster."

This move was a bit harder since, one, she was unfamiliar with the move, and two, she had to use her non-dominant hand to get out of his grip. James seemed to sense this and gave her enough tips and tricks until she was able to run through the move at a reasonable speed.

"Let's try an elbow choke next," he explained. "It's common for aggressors to use."

Evaline nodded. "I can do that," she said, although she did know it was difficult to do if the aggressor was stronger than her, so she hummed this over. "But don't hold back on me as much. I have trouble getting out of this one if my opponent is stronger."

"Will do."

James put his elbow around her neck, and she expected to be short of breath for the next few seconds as she would try to duck away, but instead of applying pressure towards her throat, he balanced his elbow along her neck so that he could pick her up without added pain. This caught her off guard as her feet started to drag along the ground when he started to walk backwards.

"Okay, okay," she said through a nervous laugh. "I get it. What do I do?"

James stopped walking and loosened his grip a little.

"If you know the right tactic, you should be able to do this regardless of how strong your oppressor is," he said. "But you'd have to be fast. Before they could apply pressure on your throat, step forward, turn around in the direction of my fist, then step out, and push off with both hands."

James went through the steps in order again, slowly this time as she followed suit. She was able to push herself off James afterwards, and he gave a nod of approval before stating that they try this again until she was able to do it seamlessly. He claimed this move was common, so she took his word for it and agreed.

Finally, she was able to go through this quickly, even when James ramped up the pressure a little.

"Good," he said with another nod of approval. "When you're in a chokehold while standing up, you can use gravity against your opponent, and more freedom of movement. But things change when you're on the ground and in a hold. I want to show you what to do if you're ever pinned to the ground and need to break free."

James instructed her to lay on the ground, and she watched as he slowly climbed on top to pin her down and wrap his hand around her neck.

She felt her heart start racing for various reasons, one of them being that this was a scary position. James wasn't her aggressor, obviously, but in this position, the fright in her was screaming that he was and she had to get away. She felt so weak and vulnerable to have him towering over her while she laid there, limp and useless.

"Do you know how to get out of this?" he asked in a calm voice, looking down at her and studying her position.

This would have oddly felt intimate if it wasn't for the fact that this was an intimidating position to be in.

She tried the same push tactic as the previous chokehold, but it was no use since his elbow was propped against her chest. She also tried to squirm out, but his grip was too strong.

"No," she sputtered out, anxiously looking at his touch-points to figure out if there was a way she could escape.

"That's okay," he said in the same calm voice, then reached for her hands. "Put your hand over my tricep, here—" he said, placing her hand down for her, "—and your other hand here, on my wrist, like that."

He looked back at her legs, and with his free non-choking hand, he tapped the leg he was referencing. "Bend this leg and place it over my ankle, yes, like that. And then bend your other leg."

James looked back to meet her eyes. "Feeling okay?"

Evaline only nodded.

"Now, using your feet for momentum, push up with your hips, and then use the pressure on your hands on my arm to flip me around."

Evaline attempted this, first without enough force, so James prompted her to try again. And then she did it: she rolled over so that she was on top of James instead, and then he instructed her how to destabilize him so that she could get up and escape.

"Good," he said, sitting up straight when finished. "Now let's try that again, this time without my instructions."

The two of them practice doing this for some time, and Evaline was confident enough that she could do this in the midst of battle if it came down to it. In fact, she felt more confident with most chokeholds now, and she was glad that James was able to teach her.

But the night didn't end yet. James then wanted to move on to weapons, specifically on disarming. He walked over to the saddlebag and took out his brush again.

"We'll practice with this brush as the weapon," he said, turning back towards her. "We'll practice disarming a gun and knife at various positions. And then I can teach you a few offensive moves that complement what you already know."

While he was talking, Evaline turned to look up at the sky. It was night now, and normally, they may have light conversation before deciding to turn in for the night. But James seemed adamant on having her learn everything right now.

Maybe it was a good thing he was teaching her now. Who knows who they may run into in the desert?

James had Evaline practice getting out of several holds over and over again, but he knew it wouldn't stick unless they practiced frequently over the passing days. And James couldn't help but feel like it still wasn't enough. Still, they were only covering defensive moves - Evaline still knew very little about how to use her knife, and the only weapon she was familiar with they didn't have.

He called it a night after the two of them started to get tired. He never let it show, but even though Evaline refrained from using full force, he was starting to feel it. Everything was aching, and he needed to rest if he wanted to have any strength for tomorrow.

Wearily, the two of them took turns resting as usual. He let Evaline sleep first, and unlike most nights, spent the majority of his watch staying still, resting, even if he couldn't be asleep.

The sandstorm raging over them finally blew over by morning, leaving the sky covered in a dirty brown haze. The two of them trekked their way through the rest of the small canyon and back into the open, where the air was clearing, and the sun beat down on them with no mercy.

Three days passed, and with each day James tried his best to reinforce the skills he knew would help Evaline in the event of an attack: riding and fighting. But he could feel that the practice was starting to wear on all of them, and the heat of the unforgiving sun was leeching off their energy.

They had found their way back to the river, and despite their best efforts, they were traveling far slower than before. The desert's heat waves were unrelenting, and James knew better than to push them beyond their physical limits. Staying hydrated, fed, and as healthy as possible was priority.

There was, however, a sense of unresolved tension in the air. Lingering in the back of both of their minds was the knowledge that they wouldn't be safe forever. Trouble would come, and it wasn't a matter of if, it was when.

The anxiety seemed to be weighing the both of them down, and James knew Elliot could feel it too. While he had grown accustomed to constant travel, there was a different level of alertness that he had with Evaline around. It was taxing, and of course, it did nothing to help his sleep.

As they trudged forward into the late afternoon hours, the gurgling of the river filled the silence between them, and James watched as the sun slowly inched across the sky.

Habitually, he let his gaze drift down, and he scanned the area around them. Back and forth, avoiding prickly cacti and other needled plantlife.

He led Evaline and Elliot around a large needled tree. It was green, but instead of leaves, its thin twisting branches only bore long, pointy thorns.

And then, that's when James heard it. The river was starting to rush a little faster. He glanced over to Evaline, wondering if she'd heard it first, but not thought it significant enough to mention.

Either there was a drop-off, or rapids. One was easier to navigate around than the other.

They kept pressing onward, and the horizon ahead of them started to change. The plants started thinning out a little as the river started surging forward, and he could see the edge of a rocky cliff in the distance. Red rock formations piled atop each other, some as one part of a whole, and others as giant loose boulders.

Before they knew it, they were looking at a waterfall. The river collappsed off the side of the cliff-face, pooling into a small pond before it pushed ahead, winding off into the distance with seemingly no end.

James stopped as they stood a few feet short of the edge of the cliff, sighing.

He could see Evaline's awe at the sight from the corner of his eye, but all he could manage to think about was how they were going to get down. He started searching the cliffside, looking for a pathway, a slope, something that led down. He didn't want them to stray too far from the water...

He saw only one way down. They would have to travel some distance to the east, but the cliffside wasn't even - it looked like it went downhill, and eventually became flush with the land below. It was a gradual descent that would take them a good distance from the river, and would probably take half a day at least.

James looked back up at the sun, then back down at the water.

The sun was only an hour from setting, and they wouldn't make it down and back to the river before then.

"Let's stop here for the night," James said.

Evaline was still peering down at the waterfall, but then she looked up at him, seemingly confused. "We still have time," she said, not piecing together the same thoughts he had. "We could keep walking." Her voice trailed off a bit, like she was unsure of her own words. Maybe she wanted to stay because of the waterfall anyways.

"Elliot can't make it down the cliffside," James explained simply. "So we'll have to go a long way down. That would take too much time before nightfall. It'd be best if we just stayed here for the night and got some rest."

"Ah," was all she said in response to that, and she kicked a rock over the edge, watching as it crashed down into the water below. "Of all the places to rest, this isn't the worst."

A sliver of a grin tugged at James's lips, and he looked out at the horizon. "It's not bad," he said quietly.

"Right," she said as she plopped down on the ground, sitting casually near the edge, but not too close that her legs could dangle. "I bet you've seen better sights. You know, not anything like a desert with a setting sun, on the edge of a cliff, with a waterfall cascading down below. I'm sure you run into these kinds of places daily."

James grinned and rolled his eyes. "Oh, all the time," he said, his voice laced with obvious sarcasm.

"Quite a life you've got there," Evaline said with the beginnings of her own grin. "It's a good thing I'm traveling with you so I can see all of it too."

James stood for a moment, holding Elliot's lead and watching the sun inch closer to the horizon. He sighed, and looked back at Elliot.

"Perks of being an outlaw," he said, turning to tie off Elliot to a rock that poked out of the ground like a small tower.

Evaline scoffed. "I'm an outlaw too, technically. But I'm pretty sure I've seen more of Nye than I have of Earth." She paused. "It's almost like I live here now."

James pulled the knot tight and looked up at Evaline, who was gazing at the sunset. From behind, he couldn't quite see her expression, but he knew exactly what she was hinting at.

She did live here, and had been living in Nye for over two months now.

It sounded like she wanted to stay.

He walked over to her and stood beside her for a moment, before plopping down and propping one arm behind him as he leaned back.

"It's a dangerous world to live in, sometimes," he said. "But not a bad one."

Evaline nodded, only briefly glancing back at him before returning her gaze in front of her. "Not bad at all," she said softly.

A bout of silence followed as the two of them watched as the edge of the sun just started to dip behind the horizon.

For just a moment, James almost forgot all of the worries swirling in the back of his head. He wondered if Evaline was able to calm her mind too, or if she still felt the quiet anxiety of the unknown.

His eyes flicked over to her, catching the look of dreamy awe of her face as she watched the sunset.

"Do you want to see another memory of mine?" he asked softly, almost afraid that speaking would ruin the moment.

The question did seem to melt away her expression, and she looked up at him curiously, tilting her head. "What kind of memory?" she asked.

"A good one," he said, meeting her eyes.

Evaline seemed to study him for a second before lightly smiling and sitting up straight. "Okay," she said. "If you want me to see it."

James nodded, and shifted so he was facing her. She scooted closer, turning towards him too.

"It'll be quick. Wouldn't want you to miss the sunset," he said.

She smiled. "Sure thing," she said as she reached for his hand. She hadn't fully explained it, but it seemed that this connection could be from anywhere on his body, not just his forehead. "Ready?"

James met her hand with his, and nodded. Then he closed his eyes and remembered.

James was spinning, under a canopy dressed in flowers and colorful ribbons. He was holding the hands of his little sister Larrel, who was only three at the time, and stumbling around on clumsy, uncoordinated feet. She wore a bright blue dress, and her brown hair was done up in two little braids that poked out from the flower crown donning her head.

Couples of people - mostly children, but some adults too - were dancing around them, and the air was filled with upbeat music. A fiddle led the melody, and other strings filled in the gaps and the low ends of the song. The beat of the drum was fast and syncopated, and though adults seemed to be dancing more skillfully, James was just doing what little Larrel knew how to do best - and that was spin in circles.

Then he got an idea, and without a word of communication to Larrel, he leaned back, and as they spun, got her to catch air as they held hands, and it was like she was flying.

The two of them started laughing, and laughing even more when Larrel's little shoes hit a kid behind her, making them angry. But it didn't make them stop.

James tried to lift Larrel higher and higher, going faster and faster until his whole head was spinning. Finally, his arms gave out and the two of them fell to the floor in a fit of laughter, with Larrel landing on his stomach. He hadn't laughed so hard in his life, and he was so, so inconceivably happy.

James opened his eyes and looked up at Evaline. The feeling lingered in his chest for a moment, but all it took was a few seconds of reality for the bitter to mix into the sweet.

Evaline was looking down at their hands with a wistful grin and a weak laugh. She gently squeezed his hand and looked up at him with eyes with a soft gentleness he hadn't quite seen on her yet before.

"Thank you," she whispered, giving his hand another squeeze.

"You're welcome," James replied, just as quiet.

It had been a long time since Evaline had felt this emotion. At least, in a controlled environment like this. It was hard to describe, but in one word, it would simply just be happy, like there was no other thought or worry in the world that could interfere with her thoughts and emotions.

So maybe she wanted to hold on to that as long as possible despite knowing that the feeling would fade. And maybe she was feeling a little more bold than normal.

She didn't break eye contact after thanking him, but James wasn't able to sustain it as he averted his gaze back to the sunset.

But this feeling he shared from when he was young and dancing with Larrel - she felt it too. A naive, joyful, childlike happiness that was rare for her - and James, too, or maybe any adult nowadays - to feel again. And she didn't want to move on from it just yet.

She let her mind wander a little bit as she gazed at James, noticing two things: one, he didn't let go of her hand yet, and two, the sunlight was once again hitting his face at the right angle. She studied him for some moments, not caring if he felt her lingering gaze on him.

Far too many second passed for this to be comfortable for him, and the feelings were starting to fade anyways, so she peeled her gaze away and also looked at the sunset. Evaline didn't let go of his hand yet, either.

She remembered how James seemed to hint that he was sensitive to negative things about him, and she figured he wanted compliments, but she had no idea how to bring one up ever since they had that conversation. There was one that popped in her mind suddenly, and with the lingering spontaneity, she blurted it out.

"The sunset lighting looks different on your skin," she said softly. "I like it better than the sunrise."

James's eyes flicked towards her, but he looked back at the sunset. "You think so?"

She smiled, nodding once. "I know so."

James hummed, like it was a little laugh kept inside. "High praise from an artist."

Evaline let out a little laugh. "Sketch artist," she corrected. "I'll color you someday."

James looked over to her with a grin. "I know you mean in a drawing, but I don't know why I imagined you literally painting my face."

She turned to meet his eyes, but then glanced at his facial features with her mind running through the random thought of how she would randomly paint his face. The thought seemed to fall out of her mouth as words.

"If that were to happen, I'd put a little pink dot on your nose, here—" she said as she used her free hand to closely point to each facial feature while James's eyes followed, "—and then accentuate your eyes there, and then draw a few lines on your lips here, and then three little whiskers on both your cheeks."

She grinned and set her hand back on the ground.

"In other words, you'd be a cat."

James stared at her blankly for two solid seconds before his eyebrows turned upward and the rest of his face broke into a smile. He started laughing and leaning forward a little.

"A cat?" he questioned through a wheeze.

The laugh was contagious, especially when he was laughing this hard. She hadn't seen him like this before, and it was oddly endearing.

"A cat," she repeated with smug confidence, laughing herself. "Hard to open up at first, but a great friend once you get to know them."

James just kept laughing like he couldn't stop, and lifted one hand to cover his eyes.

Evaline leaned a little closer to see his expression, but getting nothing but laughter, which she was finding hard to repress herself. "See?" she said through a giggle, noting his hand covering his eyes. "A cat would want to hide too."

"Oh, that's so--" James said through laughter. He rubbed his eyes. "Gods," he mumbled, wiping his face with his arm before pulling his hands away and shaking his head while looking at the ground. A big smile still remained on his face.

Little did James know that Evaline was observing his face the entire time, trying to burn it in her memory.

She smiled, still feeling their hands interlaced with one another, and feeling a calmness wash her body. Even though the feelings from the memory were long gone, it still felt like there was not a worry in the world right now for her.

"You have a nice laugh," she casually said, looking back at the sunset and deciding to say whatever possible compliment popped in her mind now.

James sniffed, and it sounded like he suppressed another laugh as his gaze fell down to their hands.

"And it sounds nothing like a cat," he said.

Evaline let out an airy laugh. "Unfortunately, or fortunately?"

"Fortunately," he said, smiling up at her.

A pause followed, and his smile started to fade naturally. He looked back out to the sunset, which was a little over halfway hidden. The beginnings of the deep night blue started creeping into the edges of the sky.

He opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but changed his mind.

"This is nice," he finally said in a whisper.

The smile hadn't ever really left Evaline's lips as she stared at the sky, watching James from the corner of her eyes. She wondered if he was referencing the nature, the conversation, or their closeness.

But then it occurred to her that she hadn't really quite asked to hold his hand, and she wondered if he was truly okay with it. It seemed that the positive energy of the conversation gave her the courage to bring it up.

"I hope you don't mind..." she said quietly, referencing their hand holding with a very gentle squeeze of her hand. James squeezed back.

"I don't," he said quietly.

A swirl of bubbly emotions flowed through her chest, and she simply smiled, letting the peace of the evening pass by them.

"This is nice," she finally agreed.

After the sunset, James and Evaline finally got up, with Evaline going to sleep first. James was beginning to think maybe it was better that way. Evaline would always sleep longer if uninterrupted, and James had always only ever been able to sleep for four hours at most - with the one day (when Evaline had forced him to sleep after he didn't sleep for a week) as an exception.

The night went by peacefully, aside from a few buzzing bugs that kept trying to land on James, which he killed repeatedly.

When morning finally came, they made their way down the slope, and the waterfall grew smaller and smaller behind them. Evaline had missed the sunrise, but he thought she would've enjoyed it just as much as the sunset.

They walked together as usual, except this time, James had Evaline lead Elliot. It was something simple, but he wanted her to get comfortable with it too. After eating a quick breakfast on foot, James tossed the outer peel of his fruit into the dirt and looked over to Evaline.

It was weird having nothing to do with his hands.

"That's probably the last waterfall we'll see for a while," he thought out loud.