Rebecca could not quite silence a murmur as she rubbed her abdomen. "As deadly as pointed-ear women with spears?"
"We'll take that chance, Tascia." Rick said. "If we are... if I am... supposedly the one that Prophecy refers to, we'll have to get by on our own. Besides, we're hoping to just get home. It's not anything personal, but I doubt you'd feel comfortable there if we do get back."
Tascia brushed back her honey-gold hair and looked at Rick for a moment, a neutral look that nevertheless made him feel a lot warmer than the sunlight itself did. "I will wait here, for a time, not long; I shall see if you return. And then I will return to my village. If we do not meet again in this life, I will at least know I have done all I can in helping the One."
Then she leaned up to him and left a kiss on his cheek; nothing more than a pro forma gesture of farewell. Yet her lips were light and war and the touch caused him to flush, despite himself. And then she turned from them and sat down by her kill, staring off at the horizon as if she were deep in thought or prayer.
"Wow. Was she taken with you or what?" Harriet said, her blue eyes alight with merriment as she looked from the elfmaiden to Rick.
"Oh, it was probably just her way, you know. The whole culture's probably fairly odd to us," Rick said, fighting off a fresh stock of red that seemed to want to make its way to his cheeks. "Anyway, we have more important worries. We should get started if we're gonna try to get home, right?"
"If you say so," Harriet said, and then smiled, one could almost say coquettishly. "But I think you're wrong, Rick. You never know who just might be taken with someone, after all."
She then made her way back to the others, flicking him a wink over her shoulder and leaving him just that much more confused. Rick finally shook his head. He had enough to think about as it was. He was glad that everyone seemed to be adjusting well, but if they took things in this world too lightly...
He shuddered, thinking about some of the creatures Tascia had suggested. She was right, it could be fatal. But there was no time to delve on that now. Diane was suggesting to Harriet that one of the roads would be safest, while Harriet good-naturedly responded that in the old days, Highwaymen used to hang along the roads and wait for travelers. Rebecca, meanwhile, was going over to check the signpost at the crossroads, to see if there was any indication where the closest town was.
Like I have time to worry about a romantic life, Rick thought wryly, as he decided to...
Sun Jul 23 21:03:26 2000