Chapter Seven
When morning came, Brann was gone. Sensible enough. Tarken might not appreciate them both being together. When she stepped outside and went to eat in the canteen, she bumped into Karris there. Instantly, she held her breath, but Karris grimaced.
“Hey! Elise. Can I talk to you?”
Suspicious. Karris wanting to talk might result in a backhand murder. Practise caution. Elise nodded.
Karris sat at the table and waited as Elise grabbed her cereal and sat opposite.
“I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for how I treated you. Really.”
Wait, what? Karris, apologizing? What sorcery was this? Elise hesitated. Right. Her sorcery.
“You don't have to apologize. I understand that you felt displaced. I might have felt the same if I was you.” She wouldn't have, but she laced her words with gentle lies to help Karris out of the guilt. Even though she thought the teenager should stew in it for as long as possible.
“Don't pull that on me,” Karris said, a little of her old spite coming back, “I know you're lying. You're too nice, you know. It makes me really angry at you. Because you're nice, and I'm not. And I want people to like me, but people just like you by default.”
Not by default. Because I have magic in my voice. I'm just as false as you are. Elise shrugged, picking at her cereal. “Do you want some advice from me, Karris? Will you take it and not be angry?”
Karris paused, then nodded. “Okay.” Her yellow eyes squinted in suspicion. She expected to not like it. Likely it took her a great deal to control her emotions.
Elise tried, anyway. “Treat people how you want to be treated yourself. Maybe you've heard that before, but it's true. If you're nice to someone, they're nice to you. If you hate someone, you can't help but show that hate and make them feel it, too. And they'll hate you back.” Elise waited for Karris to protest, to say something snappy. When she didn't, Elise continued. Not that she knew much... but she knew something, at least. Otherwise what was the point of her songs? “For me, it's small animals. Cats, dogs. Making sure they don’t suffer, because people can be very cruel to them. Just because they can. For you... it's humans. We are your animals. And the way you treat us is a reflection of your soul.”
The words made sense to Elise; they felt right. Karris contemplated this a long time, her hands twitching on the table, regarding Elise.
“I see. Yes. I suppose that makes sense.” Karris's eyes then dipped to the table. Guilty. “There was something black on me for a long time. It clouded my thoughts, Elise. It was... like living in a dream. No, a nightmare. One I couldn't wake up from. But now I'm awake. I feel... different.” She now began to chew the inside of her cheek and stroke her dark hair. “I hope you can forgive me.” The wyrm tentatively reached out a hand, trembling like a butterfly. Elise clasped it, not wanting to, but sensing Karris needed it.
An understanding passed between them. Maybe Karris suspected something more about Elise. But if she did – her tongue for that moment seemed tied.
They departed. Not... amiably, exactly, but better than before.
It was something, at least. Elise's mind drifted, preoccupied with the things she encountered. Lord Tarken, giving her friendly pats on the back, giving her little smiles. Wyrms standing a little straighter in the corridor, not quite staring at her with the familiar loathing she expected from them. She didn't walk with silence, like a mouse, sticking to the corners in whiskery, twitching fear.
And when it came to the basement, and the crowd gathered, and Elise sang her pieces, going for calm, sad, rousing – she got tumultuous applause. Most of the wyrms and drakes in the audiences knew her now by her voice, and loved her for it. Even if she happened to be a human. Some scowls lingered, some people still muttered, especially newcomers who had never heard her voice before. But mostly, the words worked. Mostly, she sang with heart to her audience, compelled them to her, drew them into her world for a moment.
Tarken sat next to her, and beamed like sunlight through a cloud. Elise discreetly observed Brann preparing for his fight, dancing back and forth, clashing his elbow guards together.
“Wonderful singing as always, Elise. Good, good. We'll have to get you a bigger stage. I think more would love to listen to you.”
“I'd like that,” Elise said carefully. He seemed genuinely happy to see her. He really had changed. I sang privately to him and he's never been the same afterwards.
Brann stepped into the cage after giving Elise one last glance, cracking his knuckles together, preparing to fight The Dagger – a wyrm with bloodshot yellow eyes, a face swollen and square-like, with muscles bulging with veins. He looked like a miniature mountain in comparison to Brann.
Elise started to sweat. Surely, one good blow from that hunk of meat would injure Brann. Even Lord Tarken seemed worried, and he leaned forward in his seat.
Elise knew enough of the fighting now to understand that although power wasn't everything, if someone possessed it, you needed to be exceedingly careful not to get stomped.
Anxiety in her heart, she watched as the fight started. Brann prowled around his opponent, who took a moment to assess the situation, his piggy eyes mean. Then, with a bellowing roar, the opponent attacked. In a flurry of fists, The Dagger drove Brann backwards.
“He's trying to provoke Brann to answer back in kind,” Tarken said to Elise, who nodded attentively. “He wants Brann to lose all sense of pattern, then he'll switch back to deadly precision. It's how he's won everything before.”
Thankfully, Brann seemed to understand the wildness, and he ignored the outer strikes of the wyrm, instead focusing on precise thrusts towards The Dagger's chest. This changed the strategy. They danced, trading even blows. The Dagger was clearly stronger, and surprisingly fast for his bulk, though Brann showed an additional nimbleness. He jabbed maddeningly at The Dagger, his every blow provoking a cheer from his budding supporters.
A deafening roar resounded when The Dagger landed one vicious blow, leaving a bloody gash across Brann's chest with the sharp edge of the guard, making the drake stagger backwards.
No, Elise thought. Blood injuries didn't happen often, but the guards could kill if used by their edges.
She didn't want to see Brann hurt. And definitely not dead. She began humming under her breath, composing a tune for him. She closed her eyes, shaking slightly. She hated this fighting, really. Hated it and the way it made her heart pound viciously, made her thirst along with the audience for blood and victory. It made her blood pulse hard, and the beat of the audience screaming, booing and cheering was like the beat of a heart.
Screaming forced her eyes open. She saw Brann dizzy, staggering backwards, and The Dagger lurching forward, bringing his full power to Brann's face. Brann seemed to barely stumble out the way, miss the leg sweep by a feather tip.
“He's faking,” Tarken whispered. “He doesn't wear out that fast.”
It didn't look like faking. Brann laboriously dodged out of The Dagger's way, sometimes receiving glancing blows. Then Elise saw the pattern, like the rhythm of music. Yes. Subtle. He lured The Dagger in, baiting a blow, then just twisted out of the way, all the while theatrically wincing. Feebly hitting with his left arm, seeming to favor his right.
People started yelling for The Dagger to finish it. Brann looked frightening bloody from the chest. Red dripped onto the cage floor, turned purple by the lighting.
The Dagger paused for one moment, preparing to strike.
And then, Brann pounced. In that moment of hesitation, Brann lunged onto The Dagger with startling ferocity, using the hand The Dagger had assumed injured. Four – five blows – and The Dagger toppled over, stunned.
Unconscious.
The audience remained quiet at first, before their voices bubbled into rapturous cheers.
Elise stood up with Tarken, clapping.
“He's done it!” Tarken shrieked. “That boy's gone and done it! We're off to the city! You can come too, Elise! You can sing to thousands!” Tarken whooped loudly, his features having collapsed from stern to boyish, and the nearby wyrms cheered at his delight. “Go check on him, girl. Compose a song on his victory.” Tarken clapped her on the back, encouraging her down to tumble towards Brann.
She met the injured, triumphant warrior as he went to the small market section to grab some water, eyes like coals.
“I did it, Elise! I did it!” She saw his injured knuckles. She spotted bruises about his knees, and a limp in his ankle, though he tried to hide it. He didn't risk a hug in front of so many eyes, though she saw the instinct in his eyes. She gave him a handshake instead, making it brief, though the warmth lingered still.
People dabbed at his chest and wrapped it in bandages. The wounds were more superficial, easily healed. After being patched up, he grinned at Elise.
“I'll get you a drink!” He grabbed one from the stall, flicked a coin at the vendor, acting giddy as a child. “I only went and did it, Elise! Everything's going to change from now on. You'll see.”
You'll still be fighting, Elise thought. Still hurting. Still risking death to clear those debts.
He dragged her along again after the drink, even as the next fight in the cage started.
“Come, come, Elise. I have a surprise for you. I kept my promise. I wasn't selfish. I did it after… you fell asleep.”
What did he mean? She followed him, half-tugged, and looked to where he pointed. At first, she couldn't make out anything exceptional in the audience. Then, to her utter amazement, she saw Isera.
Isera was here.
Elise let out a strangled sound of delight when Isera waved at her, along with a healthy dose of fear.
“What if someone spots her and recognizes her?”
“They won't. And she wears Artiz's insignia to make it look like she belongs to him. Go! Go speak!” He patted her forward, trying to pretend it didn't hurt him when he did.
Elise leaped into Isera's arms. The woman was just as she remembered, dark blonde and fiery-faced.
“I missed you, little one,” Isera said, stroking Elise's hair. “You look... surprisingly healthy, too,” she added, stepping back to squint at her. “That's a first. I thought you'd be wafer-thin since I wasn't sneaking food out of the estate to you anymore.”
Her companion, a gray-eyed, noble-faced drake, the one they called Artiz, sniffed her hair audibly.
“Yes,” he said. “Delicious power.”
“I knew it,” Isera said excitedly. “I knew there was something special about you! I saw it! I saw it!”
Elise smiled, before placing a finger to her lips, warning Isera to be quiet, to not draw so much attention.
“I didn't understand what you meant at the time.”
“Yes, well. I couldn't really tell you that I knew magic. Just in case something went wrong and they went for you.”
“I understand.” Elise touched Isera's hair. She had always admired the color. Everyone in the mines had black or brown hair. No one held a hint of yellow like this.
“I took the liberty of inquiring with Zannis about her particular... niche,” Artiz hissed, enough for them to hear, but not for the other drakes and humans who lingered nearby. “She's someone responsible for fathoming people's magic at the school. Zannis thinks Elise sounds like a Soul Empath. Ability to influence emotions, and the soul that bleeds them. But there is one other peculiar ability that we wouldn't mind in our arsenal. Beyond the influencing.”
“You can fix broken souls,” Isera said promptly, making Artiz groan.
“Don't interrupt me. I would have said it much better. I was preparing for it.”
“Oh, shush. We have someone who can just yank souls out of people and kill them instantly like that. Which is a bit of a harsh way to do it,” Isera said, grinning. “So we're not exactly short of offensive power. But you can heal the soul whilst it's still in someone. Apparently. And wyrms have, uh, broken souls. Isn't that right?”
“It is.” Artiz appeared thoroughly annoyed at having his speech ruined. “All wyrms are crippled with their broken souls.”
The black, Elise realized. The thing Karris said that clouded her thoughts, always lingered there in the back of her mind. The black. It was real. They... the wyrms had something wrong with them. Fundamentally so.
Karris's words. It was like it just got lifted from me.
Elise kept this thought in mind, even as she gushed enthusiastically with Isera about her new life. Isera lived in a place in the mountains, getting taught by crusty teachers and making new friends with frightening powers. How wonderful. Elise spoke of Karris, of Jorus, Tarken and Brann. Isera explained about one of her friends at the school, a super scary woman called Seon. The one who nobody knew what power she contained – right until she saved them from certain death by taking on twenty or so people at once – and surviving.
Elise imagined this new world, loving the way it wrapped out of her head, becoming reality.
They wandered around, talking.
“The school is amazing, though it gets pretty cold up there. And you can come! You can vanish from this place now. You’ll no longer be in fear of each day being your last.” Isera held her friend's arm as she pushed forward with her impassioned speech. “You can take Ratty. He'll be so happy in his new home. You still have him, of course?”
“Of course.”
Artiz watched their conversation along with Brann, both of them wearing guarded expressions. Both of them waiting for Elise's response. After all, they were here for her.
Yes, she thought. She'd be free. Out of the mansion, away from the suffering miners and high on a mountain, left free to practise her magic. She could walk the halls with Isera and her strange new friends. Smile as she'd never smiled before.
Then she considered Karris's apology. Tarken's excitement upon having her sing. Jorus's pride. A whole crowd saddened by song or roused by frenetic energy.
And she thought of Brann, there, always fighting, always alone, except when with her, sharing himself.
The answer came to her in a flood of inspiration. And she knew for certain that it was the right answer. One that made the most difference. She kissed Isera on the forehead and hugged her.
“I'm going to stay here.”
Brann froze. Artiz gaped. “What?”
“I'm staying,” Elise said. “I can change things here. I am changing things here. And Tarken said it – I can sing in the big city. Imagine how many people there could hear my voice? Imagine all the people who would be better for it?”
“You... trust this overlord?”
“He's changed,” Brann said softly. “Thanks to her influence. Even I can see that.”
Isera shook her head, worried. “I hope you know what you're doing, Elise. It's too dangerous. You know what they're like.”
“I do. And don't worry.” Elise gave her a smile. “I think I can do a lot more here. We'll each do our part in changing the world. Won't we?”
Isera smiled back. “Perhaps you're right. I can see that stubborn glint in your eyes. You're really convinced this is the best choice, aren't you?”
“Yes. I really am.”
Her friend let out a sigh, then clasped Elise's hand. “Take care, old friend. And enjoy my former room.”
They retreated from the crowd, obviously not wanting to stay longer than necessary. Sooner or later, someone might stare at them a little bit too long and start asking questions.
Brann raised an eyebrow at Elise, bemused. “You know, I specifically arranged and fast-tracked things to get you to safety.”
“Who said I needed it?” Elise prodded him in the shoulder, grinning. “I think I can make a difference here. A bigger one than being stuck on some mountain somewhere. Even Karris is coming around. She no longer wants to poison me. Maybe she'll even be my friend in time. And can you imagine that? Because I barely can.”
The glow in Brann's eyes let Elise know how much happiness floated in him from her announcement of staying. He did a poor job of hiding it.
Even though it hurt him, he would have let her go for her own safety and happiness.
That convinced Elise to never leave him. To never let this chance go. How could she run away from someone who had shown her beauty in this world, from kindness? From being loved?
They held hands for a brief moment. A quick squeeze, a gentle smile.
A different future awaited her. One to purge the darkness from the wyrms’ souls with the music that burned in her throat, no longer tainted by lungdust. And one to bring a city to tears with song, and to tease the wyrms ever closer to banishing the darkness that corrupted their souls. Maybe in time she could even persuade Lord Tarken, if things continued as they were, to lessen the pressure on the slaves in the mines.
All with Brann by her side.
Rescued by Ryland
Deep River Shifters – Book 1
By Lisa Daniels
Chapter 1
Settling in and an Unexpected Distraction
Placing her hand on the back of her neck, Serenity rolled her head back trying to pop her neck. As much as she loved programming apps, there were times when she wanted nothing more than to throw her computer against the wall and run outside. Granted, it was why she really needed to set up a timer for herself – being sedentary for long periods of time had always gotten to her, no matter how much she liked what she was doing. Her neck gave a satisfying pop and Serenity let out a loud sigh. Pushing her chestnut brown hair off of her shoulder, the young woman was beginning to feel entirely restless.
She should have gotten up and gone outside several hours ago. Looking at the clock, she realized that she hadn’t stood up in about three hours. She rubbed a hand over her face and decided it was time for a long stroll outside, even though it was getting close to sunset.
Placing her computer beside her on the couch, Serenity quickly saved her work and closed the computer. “Yeah, I think that is the sign I need. When I can’t debug something that simple, then it is obviously time to take a break,” she muttered as she pushed herself up from the couch. Her long legs easily cleared the ottoman she had purchased for her new place but was too lazy to move out of the way. Most of her furniture had come from her guardian and friends, so the living room of the apartment was a hodge-podge of various styles and looks – not that she really paid any attention. The bright red ottoman didn’t match anything in the room, and clashed fairly painfully against the orange sofa. Interior decorating had never been one of her strong suits. Anything that didn’t involve being physically active or coding was largely out of Serenity’s understanding. A few of her friends had offered to decorate her last apartment, but had been met with a simple shrug of her slender shoulders. When she left MIT for the Pacific Northwest, only a few of her closest friends had assisted. Most were too disappointed that she had chosen to leave the prestigious school for some unheard of town in the middle of nowhere on the other side of the country. They felt that as a cum laude graduate, she owed it to the school to stick around – they simply could not understand what would make her decide to move somewhere more open and dangerous than their old New England city. With several large cities nearby, her fellow students and graduates could not image anywhere that could possibly offer more entertainment and excitement than where they were. And that was exactly why she didn’t bother trying to explain it to them. The cities were nice, but Serenity was done living in large cities. Her friends had chided her for wanting to live near the heart of the tech industry, but that wasn’t it at all. She wanted to live somewhere that had fewer people and easier access to a wider range of outdoor activities. Silicon Valley had never been a place she considered; that was why she had chosen a small town in Washington State.
Serenity was actually pleased with the change in environment now that she was settled in. Deep River was like living in a completely different world, and it offered her everything that she had dreamed of. The first day that she had woken up to the cool air coming through the window and the sound of birds chirping, all doubt about her choice had disappeared. Not that she had ever had much doubt. Serenity had wondered if she had perhaps over-romanticized what life would be like, but the stark contrast to the way things had been was taking her life in the direction she had always wanted. As much as she loved coding and developing, the draw of the outdoors was impossible to ignore. Living on the east coast, there were a few things that she could do outside, but it usually meant having to spend a good portion of the day driving. Serenity hated driving. Her new home was just a few blocks from the campus, and some outstanding hiking was just a half-hour away. So far, she had explored three state parks and one federal park. And every morning the sound of nature gently woke her, instead of the sounds of cars passing nearby. Here she really felt like she could do anything that she wanted to do whenever she wanted to do it. Though she hadn’t been to either Seattle or Portland, she knew that it was just a matter of time before she would check them out. Not that she was interested in moving back to a city; rather, she was curious to see how accurate their reputations were.
If there was a problem it was the cultural shock. The people on the west coast were incredibly different from those on the east coast. Not in a bad way, but Serenity had never considered that the personalities would be so drastically different. Having traveled up and down the east coast, she thought that she knew what people would be like – but there was nothing to prepare her for just how different people on the west side thought.
It wasn’t something she noticed right away because there had been so many things to take in at first. When she had been staying in a hotel, the graduate student had figured that the attitudes of the few people that she interacted with were mostly a façade because she only talked to people whose primary job was taking care of people. Of course, she would have to admit that even the customer-oriented businesses on the east coast did not go quite as far in how astonishingly nice they could be. If she asked a question, the answer was about three times longer than she expected, and by the end, the person she had asked had provided her with answers to a lot of questions she had not asked. It left her somewhat baffled. It was only after a week or so that she realized that part of the problem were the questions she was asking. They were far too generic. Kind of like looking up the definition of the word “the” in the dictionary, if you didn’t provide context, you were going to get a lot more information than you wanted. Over time she learned to narrow down her questions, so that a little over a month later, she knew how to get a more direct answer, although there were times when she would have to remind herself to keep the questions more direct.
Another thing she noticed was that people were far friendlier when she was out in public. On the east coast, if someone said hi, she had learned to expect that they would be asking her for a phone number. The cool response she had developed to dissuade people from approaching her with an interest in dating did not have the same effect on the west coast. Instead of taking her somewhat cold response as a sign that she wasn’t interested in talking, people of Deep River seemed to think that it meant that something was wrong. Strangers would start asking if she was alright or if she needed help with a problem. The first time it happened, she had been moving boxes off of the truck, and the guy hadn’t even asked if she was alright. When Serenity had given him a tepid response, he had immediately started helping her move things into her home. She was so flabbergasted that he was already on his second trip before she realized she should try to stop him. He had simply waved her off and struck up a conversation about where she was moving from as he worked. The other three movers hadn’t seemed at all offended for the help either. Serenity had expected to have to be mean when it was over to get him to leave since she had not asked the guy for help. Instead, as soon as the work was one, he had wiped his forehead, given her a smile, welcomed her to the neighborhood, and left. Serenity had watched him with a truly puzzled look because he hadn’t hit on her once. It was only the voice of one of the movers breaking into her thinking that had brought her back to the task at hand. She had largely forgotten about the encounter after that because as exhausting as the long move had been, there was still too much to do to think about things like strangers.
Later Serenity had found out that the guy who had helped her was married with three kids. She only found that out when she encountered him on one of her first walks through the neighborhood. The man’s wife had given him a playful slap on the arm and reprimanded her husband for not asking her to help with the move. Serenity had no idea how to respond to the open kindness because it was nothing like what she was accustomed to. The conversation had been short, but it had given her a lot to think about.
The next month and a half, she learned how to talk to the strangers who honestly had no other interest than being friendly. If she was troubled, there was always someone willing to help. The town was a lot smaller than anywhere she had lived on the east coast, but it was still over 17,000 people. That meant that there were plenty of people who didn’t know each other. Still, it was small enough that people tended to treat each other in a way that was associated with tiny communities, and she suspected that it was not just the town that was like that.
The different outlook on life and strangers had certainly come as a shock, and one that took a while to get acclimated to, but she had plenty of reasons to grow to appreciate it as well. Through the open and friendly approach to life, Serenity had learned about her favorite hiking places. She still had not made friends as she had been too busy to do anything apart from unpacking, preparing for class, and developing an app for one of her friends back east. Making friends had never been a high priority, mostly because people tended to just include her in stuff. Serenity was aware that she was attractive, but it hadn’t seemed important because it had nothing to do with what interested her. Since people had gravitated to her, there hadn’t been much of a need to put in an effort. With the incredibly friendly mannerisms and gregariousness of the people in the Pacific Northwest, Serenity felt far less lonely than she had thought she might. It was incredibly rare when she felt any twinge of desire to be back on the east coast, and those never lasted more than a few seconds. By simply looking around at the striking Cascades and miles of beautiful land, she had plenty to remind her just how much better things were in her new place. Still, after a month and a half, she was starting to feel a need for a closer relationship than the conversations she had with people when out running errands or hiking.
Despite a lack of a real social life, the first month and a half had been enjoyable, and now it was time to pay for it. School would be starting up soon, and she would need to get her head back into the books. Programming for fun was so much different than doing it for classes. Of course, there was always plenty of room for innovation and creativity, it was just that the assignments always put limitations on her work that Serenity didn’t like. Now that she was working toward a Master’s in a different place, she wondered just how much it was likely to change.
Don’t get your hopes up that you are going to be given the room to be creative. You know that is not the way it works, she thought to herself as she slipped her shoes on. The last thing you need is disappointment to start off the school year. Just focus and get it done.
The cool mid-September air struck her face as she opened the door. The sky was completely cloudy, something that she was not accustomed to yet. Most of the last month and a half had been sunny and nearly too hot. Without AC, she had often found it difficult to make it through the middle of the day. By the next morning, it was hard to believe just how hot it would get because there was about a 40-degree temperature difference between the morning and middle of the day. She learned how to keep her home cool even during the worst part of the heat, and it meant that her power bills were nothing compared to what she had managed on the east coast. A little bit of discomfort was worth it since she had ended up saving a lot of money. What she saved on utilities came as a relief as the price of rent was not any cheaper than it had been at her previous place. Since she didn’t have time to get a job, Serenity was pleased that she wouldn’t have to try to squeeze it into her schedule to pay for essentials. She would just have to be careful with her budget now that she didn’t have scholarships and grants to cover her schooling.
Her steps turned toward a familiar path where she knew she would get an excellent view as her mind turned away from the mundane and to her surroundings. This particular walk was not difficult, but it was a lot more exercise than she usually got walking the same distance near MIT. Living near the base of part of the Cascades created some slopes for walking, and she was only now able to walk up them at her usual pace without getting winded.
About 25 minutes after leaving her home, Serenity had gone much further along the trail than she had gone before. Her eyes were met by the sight that she had most wanted to see after staring at a screen for so long. She had gone far enough up the trail to have a fantastic view out over a shallow valley, something that she probably would have explored more if she had come this far up earlier. Looking out over the mountainous landscape, Serenity’s face spread into a grin. “I’m never going to get used to that.”
“Tell me about it. I grew up here, but living in California for ten years really taught me to appreciate it,” a voice to the side startled her.
Serenity turned and saw a figure leaning over a rail just off to the side of the trail. The man was tall and his shoulders were wide. For the first time in years, Serenity’s mind started to analyze someone based purely on looks. It was a primal response, one that she had repressed since she started college. Nearly as soon as she realized that she was doing it, Serenity tried to shut it down. Chalking up the thoughts to having spent too much time alone, the young woman decided she would need to start making friends soon to stave off that kind of thing. Slightly embarrassed that someone had heard her talking to herself, Serenity fell into her usual cold demeanor for keeping men at arm’s length.
“Seems like an error in judgment to have left it in the first place.”
It was only after she said it that Serenity realized that the man had not been looking at her. He moved a little and looked at her now, and she couldn’t help but see just how attractive he was. His hair was jet black and it appeared that it had been carefully styled to give off the impression that he didn’t care about his looks. The long black eyelashes looked equally touched up to highlight his startling blue eyes. They reminded her of the tip of an iceberg drifting across the ocean. His face was chiseled, and the way he posed appeared to be very practiced. This was someone who knew how to give off a chilled vibe. She was almost impressed because it had taken her years to master her cool attitude. If she had been told the same thing so many times in her life, she would have said that he looked like a model. Saying it about someone else was not something she would do because she never felt like it was the compliment people believed it to be.
He looks about as polished as the guys from New York who thought they were cool. It’s way too casual to be sincere.
For a moment, Serenity wondered just how much of her analysis was accurate, and how much of it was tinged with her experiences in college. When he turned back around to look at the view, she realized that she had spent a lot more time staring at him than he had spent looking at her. It almost bothered her.
What is wrong with you? Are you turning into the hermit people joked you would become living over here? Man, Serenity, stop being an idiot and be happy that he’s not trying to hit on you. At the last thought, she frowned. The man really was attractive. Would it be so bad if he did want to go out with her? There’s something familiar about him, too. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen him around. Certainly looks like someone from around here.
With a quick shake of her head, she was about to start walking again when he seemed to try to start a conversation with her. “So, you aren’t from around here. I hope you are finding the west a bit better for your health than the east.”
With a slight frown, Serenity tried to keep the conversation short. “It’s different.” The sun was about on the horizon and she wanted to reach a certain place before turning around – at least that was what she tried to tell herself. Then she realized exactly what he said. “What do you mean from the east?”
He turned and looked at her again, his head cocked to the side and a slight smile on his face. “Judging by… your walk and attitude, you are not from anywhere north of L.A. Judging by the clipped manner of speaking… sounds like someone from New England.”
Serenity scowled, “Are you trying to stereotype me?”
His left eyebrow was raised while the left side of his mouth twitched up, “Only as much as you are stereotyping me.”
She blinked a couple of times in response, not quite certain whether to deny it or be honest. Then she realized that she hadn’t said anything that would sound like she was stereotyping him. For a moment, she wondered if her face was giving away what she was thinking. After the pause, Serenity settled for a shrug, then turned to leave again. This time he didn’t say anything as she walked away.
After walking a few paces, curiosity got the better of her and Serenity walked back.
“I’m sorry about this, but you look familiar. Have we talked before? If so, I do apologize. Just feeling a little scrambled after spending too much time inside.”
The man looked up at her with a weary smile and shrugged. It was no kind of response to her question, but then Serenity found that she didn’t really need an answer. It was nice just to have someone who looked to be about her age to talk to. Most everyone she had met was either married or a child. The university students were probably all too busy moving back into their places to be out much; still, it made things a little less comfortable since there wasn’t much for her to talk about with the people she encountered. Feeling slightly guilty for her initially cold response, Serenity decided to be at least as sociable with the man as she had been with other strangers.
She put her arms on the rail and looked at what he was watching. Having passed by the area numerous times, she had never managed to stop and look at the viewpoint. It was breathtaking, even though they were not very high up.
“It’s stunning,” she muttered. “You are lucky to have grown up seeing this. Had I grown up out here… I bet I would have gone into a different field than tech. It’s just… indescribable.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. She wanted to say more, but the colors in the sky were phenomenal and she didn’t have anything to say as the sun touched the horizon.
They stood in silence for a while, each engulfed in their own thoughts. Finally, Serenity spoke, “So you really missed this. I thought California was supposed to have a lot of fantastic sights, too.”
“There is plenty to see; the Red Woods are particularly fascinating, but nothing quite beats the sights up here. Then again, I’m partial.”
“Well, I can certainly see why. It’s better than what I saw most of the way up and down the east coast. Granted, I did like some of the viewpoints from Maine where you could see out over the Atlantic. Still never saw a sunset that could compare with here.”
Her words were met with silence. Serenity looked out over the view and let her mind wander.
“I don’t really care for the east coast.” The words shook her out of her reverie, and she turned to look at the man. His eyes were still taking in the beauty below them.
“Have you been up and down the entire thing? If you like cities, New York is great.”
“I have no interest in cities. L.A. and San Francisco were bad enough. Having to go into Seattle is quite enough for me, and that’s something I keep to a minimum now.”
“You want to talk about stereotypical.” Serenity had a slight smile on her face as she said it.
He turned his face so that he could look at her out of the corner of his eyes. “It’s disappointing, but kind of figured that’s what you were thinking.”
“Your words.”
“No, you were the one to bring up stereotyping.”
“You were the first to do it.”
He stood up and looked down at her. In her mind, Serenity was realizing just how tall he had to be to be able to look down on her. At five foot eight, she wasn’t short. That meant he must be well over six feet tall.
The smile was gone from his face. “I didn’t come up here to argue or debate. It will be dark here soon, so I recommend you head back. The trail gets tricky just around the bend up there. Have a pleasant evening.” Without another word, he walked away.
Serenity frowned as she watched his figure disappear into the woods. A part of her mind was aware that he was heading toward a part that was just more woods. Given the time, it was surprising. The sun would set soon, and that meant that the light would be gone. It was a bad idea to be in the woods too late because the wildlife here was quite wild.
“Wait, where are you going?” The man stopped and turned toward her. The fading light cast some interesting colors on his features as he gave her a blank expression. “That’s just more woods. Don’t tell me you are a mountain man.”
The man blinked a couple of times and frowned. He gave out a heavy sigh and turned to walk away.
Serenity began to follow him. “Don’t get me wrong, I can see why someone would want to live remotely, but–”
“Why are you following me?” The man turned and looked at her as he folded his arms across his chest.
“I–I’m not following you.”
“I am quite certain you do not live this way. If nothing else, you have basically just said so yourself.”
“I didn’t–look, I’m sorry if I came across as a bit standoffish. Years of… I am sorry.”
He titled his head to the side. “You don’t need to be sorry, just be more honest. Years of hiding who you are is unhealthy.”
“I’m Serenity.” She held out her hand.
The man looked down at her hand for a second before reaching out to shake it. “It’s nice to meet you, Serenity. Good luck with everything.”
“Um,” she wasn’t quite sure what to say as he flashed a quick smile and turned to leave.
Dumfounded that he showed no interest in talking to her after getting her attention, Serenity stood in silence watching his figure disappear into the woods. There were several things about the interaction that really bothered her, but she wasn’t quite sure what. Usually she would have been happy for such a brief exchange where the guy didn’t try to ask her out. This time, though, she felt almost slighted. For all of the friendliness, the people out here really don’t do close relationships, do they? It’s all surface level. The idea was a bit chilling because Serenity had figured she would make friends quickly once she was interested in doing so. Now, she was beginning to realize that things may not always be on her terms.
Shaking her head, Serenity tried to get some focus. What did she care if a guy wasn’t interested in her? He wasn’t the first, and she doubted he would be the last. If he wants to stop strangers so that he can give them the cold shoulder, that wasn’t any of her business. Her mind tried to figure out exactly what was bothering her as she walked back home. On the way, she encountered several people that she had talked to over the course of a month and a half. It was only after the encounter with the man that she realized that the conversations were never very deep.
Several hours later Serenity was getting ready for bed, thinking about how she needed someone to talk to. She had tried to talk with a couple of her friends back east, but they were too busy. If she wanted someone to talk to, it appeared she was going to have to put some effort into it.
Why did she have to be thinking about this right before classes started? Serenity rolled over on her bed, pulling the blanket up to her face. A different type of frustration was keeping her awake when she really did not have time for it. She needed to be focusing on going back to class and getting her mind on what mattered – not worry about some random guy’s opinion of her. No, it’s not just the way he treated you. It’s the way everyone around here acts. It’s a bizarre kind of friendly. I probably should have tried to persuade a couple of people to move out here, too. Eva would have been able to charm him into – no, stop that. Serenity rolled over again and let out a frustrated sigh. The day had not gone at all well, and now she found it nearly impossible to sleep. If only she had set a timer going and walked earlier, none of this would have happened and she would have been able to mentally prepare.
Oh, just go to sleep. You’ve got a lot tomorrow and that encounter was nothing special. You’ll probably never see him again anyway. The thoughts did little to settle her mind as she tried to go to sleep. Her dreams that night did little to help her as they were full of strange men menacing her with guns while the guy she had met stood off to the side telling her how she should act in that kind of situation. When she woke the next morning, she wished that she had one more day before school started because she did not feel well rested at all.