With the former Traveler still in the lead, all three ascend the slope towards the woman. Once they stop in front of her, the two male Murkovin drop their transport handles to the ground. As they inhale deep breaths, one of the men bends down and rests his hands on his knees. Stout and broad-shouldered, roughly the same height as the woman, he stares at the dirt between his feet.
The other man, lean and slightly taller than the former Traveler, clamps his hands behind his neck. Gasping for air, he looks up at the overcast sky. Long, black hair highlighted with strands of white falls to his shoulders.
In contrast to the two men, the former Traveler barely breathes heavily at all. With her weapon dangling from one hand, the former Traveler looks back and forth between the two men.
“You both did very well,” the former Traveler says to the men before turning to the woman. “After a few more morrows of training, they’ll be ready for any part of the Barrens.”
“Their progress is impressive,” the woman replies and then addresses the two men. “You two can head back to camp. Relax and enjoy some sap.”
“Thank you,” the long-haired Murkovin says.
The two men nod their farewells, grab the handles of their transports, and walk down the side of the hill. The young boy nestled in one of the woman’s arms alertly watches them as they head towards the nearby camp.
“You have a gift for teaching others,” the woman says to the former Traveler. “You’ve taught them to maintain control of the transports much more quickly than I could have.”
“Thank you,” she replies. “I like helping others learn.”
The woman glances at the two men to make sure they’re out of earshot and then returns her attention to the former Traveler. “But you do nothing for yourself.”
“What do you mean?”
“You spend so much time alone,” the woman answers. “I never see you join the others when the morrow is near its end. You’re usually alone in your cavern or sitting on a hilltop.”
“I like being alone and . . .” The former Traveler stops talking and looks at the distant charcoal-colored hills.
“And what?” the woman asks.
“I don’t feel like I fit in.”
“At this camp or in the Barrens?”
“Anywhere,” the former Traveler replies, still peering at the faraway terrain.
“You came here in search of something that the Delta couldn’t offer you. Do you regret that decision?”
“No,” she says bitterly, turning her face to the woman. “There’s nothing for me in the Delta.”
“No one else here even knows you’re from the Delta,” the woman lies, not wanting the former Traveler to know that the tall Murkovin is well aware of who she is. “They’ll accept you if you give them a chance.”
“They might,” the former Traveler says quietly.
“Perhaps if you tried spending time with the others, you’ll feel like you fit in. Maybe you’ll even find what it is you came here in search of.” The woman pauses for a moment, remembering her belief that the former Traveler had been rejected by the male Traveler when they were together in the Barrens. “The younger of the two men you were training is about your height, the man with long hair. His eyes often linger on you. He’s the loyal kind and pleasant enough in appearance. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind your company when the others gather at the end of the morrow.”
The former Traveler is slow to reply. “He’s a fast learner,” she eventually says, “and a decent man.”
“If you give him the chance to get to know you, even just an idle conversation, maybe you’ll feel a better sense of belonging.”
“Maybe,” the former Traveler nods.
The woman kneels to the ground and sets her child’s feet on the dirt. As she returns to upright, she takes one of the boy’s hands in her protective grip.
“Unless you make an effort,” she says to the former Traveler, “you’ll never know what it is you were hoping to find in the Barrens. Rarely are things given to us, especially things worth having.”
“I guess that’s true.”
“After my child is asleep, I may join the others around the tree. Maybe I’ll see you there.”
“I might go later,” the former Traveler says. “I need to clean up now.”
“If I can help you in any way, let me know.”
The former Traveler walks down the slope in the direction of her cavern. Although her cave is close to the woman’s, on the other side of the same hill, the woman decides not to walk with her. She wants the former Traveler to have time to digest her suggestions on her own.
As the woman had hoped when she first found her in the Barrens, the former Traveler has been a tremendous asset in teaching others to blend their light, especially with transports. But her time of value may be nearing an end.
The woman has made sure that the activities in the Desert have been well hidden from all who pass through the training camp. Only when their complete trust has been gained is more information shared with them, and then only tidbits of the larger plan. Everything they’d accomplished could all be put in jeopardy if the former Traveler were to leave now. If she were to return to the Delta, too many questions might be asked about the woman’s activities. No matter what it takes, the woman can never let the former Traveler leave.
After the former Traveler is out of sight, the woman cautiously guides her child down the slope. When they reach the bottom, the boy yanks his hand away from hers and runs across the flat ground. Long, curly locks bounce off the back of his neck. Not yet streaked with the white of an adult Murkovin, the boy’s hair is shiny and pure black. The woman jogs after the boy with pride gleaming from her eyes at the speed and coordination her child
