Alternate Dream Part 2

5. Resilient

"Watching for them won't make them arrive any faster." He smirked at her as she lifted the flap to see out the window. Again.

She turned to glare at him. "It's not like I have anything else to do. How do you pass the time out here alone? When you're not doing chores or tasks."

He thought to himself. Since arriving at the station, he'd spent a lot of time simply in his own thoughts.  He was making every effort to move on from the past, becoming a better person than he'd been the past year and a half. Finding himself again.

"I manage." Was all he said to her. But when she began to clean, again, he gave in. "Enough of that, this place is the cleanest it has been in years. Probably since it was built. Come on, let's go for a walk." She eyed him as he walked to the door and began to put on his boots. "I'll show you something. To pass the time. You'll like it, trust me." He put on his coat and then held out her jacket to her. "Besides, you've been in this tiny room all day. Let's get some fresh air."

"Ok, let's go." She grabbed her coat, and put on her boots, eager to have something to do. "What are we going to see?"

"You don't like surprises?" He side eyed her.

"Not particularly.

"Oh, I see. You're just used to bad surprises."

She opened her mouth and took in a breath.  Choosing not to respond, she closed her mouth and pressed her lips together. 

"This area we are stationed beside, the badlands, is named so because it has been a barren wasteland for centuries. Nothing lives there, nothing grows there but scraggly brush."

They were walking down a narrow path in the woods, so she had to follow behind him. She looked around, trying to remember the way in case she needed to return on her own. She still didn't fully trust him. But he was so tall and broad, she couldn't see around him at all.

"This is one of the hardest stations because, even though we're in this big green forest, not much lives here this close to the badlands. The further you go away from them, the more life you'll find.

"But aren't we going towards the badlands now?"

He stopped, turning to the side to look at her with a brow raised. "Yes, we are. Very observant of you, for someone who is unfamiliar with the area."

The hairs stood on the back of her neck. His tone came across more coldly than he was speaking a moment ago. But she wouldn't cower in her fear. She kept her back straight and her head high. "I do try to keep my eyes open and aware of my surroundings. I know which direction I came from yesterday. And what if something happened to you, I'd need to find my way back on my own. I don't plan to be helpless."

He stood there, eyeing her for another moment. Both were watching the other, as if in a contest to see who looked away first.

His face softened, the teasing glint in his eye returning. "No, I don't suspect you do, Sweet Pea."

He smirked and turned to continue walking.

"I've told you not to call me that, why must you be so rude."

"Rude? I couldn't think of much more rude names to call someone."

Pea sighed. "No, the name itself isn't rude, you not respecting my wishes is rude."

He chuckled. "Ok, fine." Was all he said.

She was getting frustrated at not being able to see around him to see where she was going. But eventually the trees began to spread open more and then they were in an opening within the forest. She immediately took the opportunity to step to the side and around him. When she did, she gasped.