I passed Todd my small hand mirror. He blinked, "Wow... I can see it, but I am still having a hard time believing it."
I snickered as I spun a bit in high energy. Quite a few others were trying not to laugh.
He tilted his head, "Although I must say that my eyes are rather striking. The ladies will be flocking after me now. Too bad it isn't going to do them any good. I am far too handsome for any of them at this point."
Roland rolled his eyes, "Handsome is not the word that comes to mind with your hair like that. I can't even see your skin under all of that mud."
Todd's jaw dropped, "Hey! Just because you are jealous, that doesn't mean you get to make fun of my makeover. I will have you know that I am going to have the softest skin in the country after all this work."
Diane entered the gate and stopped dead in her tracks as she caught sight of Todd. She narrowed her eyes before she slowly walked closer, "Do I even want to know?"
I shook my head, "Nope."
Diane shook her head while sitting down on a stump and regarding Todd. She looked over at me, knowing who was truly the one responsible for his rather startling appearance, "I think you should have stuck a few more ferns amongst the moss and strawberry leaves."
I critically examined my handiwork, "I think you are right. I think a few more braided grasses holding it in place might help too. I will keep that in mind for next time."
Todd's bright blue eyes went wide, "Next time? How often does someone need a makeover? This is the first one I have ever had, and I have been just fine up until now."
I grinned at him, "That depends on how many more places are going to ask us to keep going."
We had been turned down by the four places we had stopped at. Todd shook his head, which dislodged some of the plants I had woven into it. He had made the mistake of asking me what was so great about makeup and makeovers. I told him that I had never used makeup before, but that my mother had used mud to make her skin soft.
One thing led to another and now he had a nice mudpack on his entire face. The amount of plants and moss in his hair made him look like he was wearing a rather bizarre hat. The plants were all fragrant ones that would add a nice shine to his hair.
Todd sighed, "Okay, what is the easiest way to get all of this stuff off?"
I grinned and pointed at the lake that we were camped beside. His face dropped, "Please tell me you are joking. That water is freezing. It is much too early to be swimming in it."
Diane used her foot to push a large pot towards him, "I advise heating the water a bit and just dunking your head in it."
Todd sighed as he grabbed the pot and went to go fill it with rather cold water. I giggled at his face, he really was all set for Halloween dressed as the Monster from the Marsh. Todd pulled a clump of moss out of his hair before throwing it at me.
I dodged the muddy thing with a squeal of surprise as the heat rose to help. Whew. Saved by the Heartfire reflexes. Diane smirked at Todd's shocked expression. He hadn't realized just how fast I could move if I used the heat.
Diane chuckled, "Todd, you might want to close your mouth and go soak your head before a bug flies in."
He shook his head and continued towards the lake.
I carried a box of knife sharpeners over to a trading table. The man behind it had asked me to grab them while he traded with the locals. He thanked me and I stepped back to see if anyone else needed anything brought to them.
The traders normally set up tables and let the locals come barter. Most had come and gone already. Some were still in our fenced camp at the moment, bartering over supplies and goods. I looked over with a frown. Diane was leaving the town's palisade at a swift pace, ignoring our group as she headed straight for the treeline.
I blinked as I saw her eyes flicker lighter and darker. That wasn't good. She was trying to hide their light, but she was upset enough that she couldn't quite control it completely. She was definitely angry though, I could see it clearly in her body language. Diane disappeared into the trees without even glancing at the camp.
Roland had also spotted her and meandered over to me, "I haven't seen her run off like that before."
I still watched the trees where she had disappeared, although I knew that she would have picked up speed the moment she was out of sight. "She only does that if her temper is close to snapping. The leader must not have been nice. She was very mad."
Roland was silent for some time before walking off. I went to see if anyone else needed anything. I packed a few odds and ends to various tables for the next hour as the trading began to wind down to just a few stragglers.
"I heard a bright blue-eyed lady teleported in front of Damen and threatened him with a sword."
"Yeah, I heard that too. I don't see her here though, she must have teleported somewhere else."
"I hope she doesn't attack anyone else. Damen lost his voice when she came after him, so if she appears and goes after you, try to scream before she stops you from calling out."
I peeked over to see two locals speaking quietly while they looked at the traders. The one turned in my direction and I glanced away before they could see my eye color. I had been fast enough that they hadn't seen me look away.
A couple of the traders had heard their comments and had seen my evasive action though. I ducked behind a trailer as I felt a few people watching me sympathetically. They could only be speaking of Diane, but she didn't teleport.
She rarely moved faster than a normal person did when anyone could see her, unless there was a very good reason for it. Diane had been very mad when she had left to let her temper cool down. What had happened to make her so angry? She was rarely angry and quickly forgave others. She wasn't the type to hold grudges either.
They said that she had threatened someone with a sword and stole his voice... If they thought she teleported, then she had used her full Heartfire abilities to move that fast. I had never seen her threaten someone with a weapon though. She had pinned that leader in Eagle Holding, but she hadn't drawn any of her many weapons.
As for stealing his voice, he had probably been so scared that he just couldn't talk. Or perhaps Diane had locked eyes with him and he simply had stared at her in shock.
I sighed and leaned against the big trailer. This part of the fence faced away from the palisade so no one would see me over here. There wasn't much room between the fence and the trailer with the new trucks. We had stopped at Steel Crossing and Roland had picked up his new steam powered trucks.
There were five of them, so the fence was more crowded than before. Roland had traded most of the horses though, so that gave us more room than we would have otherwise had. These trucks were much faster than his old ones, and we had covered a lot of distance in last few weeks.
Our average speed was so fast that I actually had to run to keep up. They could go faster than even Diane could run if they kicked it into high gear. Several traders had taken lessons on how to fix and maintain the powerful boilers. The solar panels helped out as well, although the trucks could run completely off solar if needed.
It had amused most when both Diane and I ended up riding more than running. We ran enough to keep the warning heat at bay, which was easily done with short runs until we tired. Todd had a much more difficult time of it, but as long as he tired himself out regularly, he wouldn't end up in pain.
Speaking of Todd, I was going to have to drag him out for a run since he hadn't left the fence since we arrived four hours ago. It was going to get dark within the hour. He wouldn't be able to see in the dark for some time yet. With a sigh, I went to go locate the bright blue-eyed goofball.
"Todd, we should go for our run before the sun sets."
He looked up and got to his feet, "Sure. Is Diane back yet?"
I shook my head, "No, but we can go by ourselves."
It was odd to be the one leading, but Todd was trusting to my sharp eyesight to evade any zombies or wild animals. It didn't take more than half an hour for Todd to call it quits. He was doing better than I had expected, but I slowed to a slow jog as I guided him back to the fence. I had run hard earlier and would join Diane on our usual run once the sun had set.
I looked around as we entered the gate, but Diane had still not returned. The trading was done and everyone had gathered around the long narrow campfire as they relaxed and wound down for the night.
Roland glanced up at our approach and patted a log beside him, "Mind sitting by me, Laura?"
I tilted my head, but went forward. He obviously wanted to talk, although I wasn't sure what was on his mind. Hopefully, it wasn't what those locals had been whispering about.
I sat down beside him and waited. Roland's eyes were distant in thought, "I am surprised that Diane has not returned yet. Could she have gotten injured?"
I shook my head, "My walkie talkie is on and I doubt anything could catch her. She will return when she is ready."
I no longer had any fear about that. Diane would not just disappear without a trace. She may return at midnight and sneak me out, but she wouldn't simply disappear.
Roland sighed, "I heard that you two were declined here as well. Perhaps the next stop will be more accommodating. Diane mentioned that she met the traders from Wainwright Fort once, has she tried there yet? That is a huge group and I can't see those in charge turning someone away."
Roland didn't know that we had originally hailed from Wainwright. "We actually came from Wainwright originally. We ended up leaving when a few people kept trying to shoot arrows at her. The Commanders welcomed her, but a couple of people were scared of her and weren't thinking clearly."
I made sure to emphasize that the leaders there hadn't minded us. It was just some people that overreacted.
"Oh." Roland had not expected that. In smaller settlements, such disrupting individual were easily identified and dealt with. With almost a thousand people in Wainwright, it was nearly impossible to find a handful of troublemakers.
He was silent for some time. His voice was sympathetic, "I am sorry that you have to keep going through this. It is unfair for both of you."
I shrugged, somewhat uncomfortable with the topic he had chosen, "The traveling is fine, it just hurts Diane to be rejected only because her eyes can glow."
Roland blinked slowly as he gazed at me, "You enjoy traveling?"
I nodded eagerly, "Yes. It is so much more relaxing. We get to help out with things we are better at, but no one is trying to force us into a mold of what they think we should be like. Being on the move allows me to move around and run as much as I need to, which is very important in keeping the Heartfire from burning me."
Roland tilted his head, thinking hard, "Life on the road isn't like life in a settlement."
I took a few seconds to carefully arrange my thoughts, "I know. Life on the road never bothered Diane, the only reason she keeps trying to get into a settlement is because of the cold and snow that winter will one day bring."
"It can get lonely on the road over time. As you have seen, we do not always stop at settlements for the night and other than you, Todd is the youngest one here."
I knew what he was hinting at and decided to clear things up, "I know that many adults are concerned that I have to play with other kids. Diane would prefer it, but even when we were back at Wainwright Fort, I only played with kids once a day, and that was only if I didn't have other training to attend. Back then, I visited the playground maybe three times a week. Ever since you got the steam engines, we have stopped at settlements at least every other night. Besides, ever since I got the Heartfire, I am faster and don't tire as quickly as other kids. Games aren't as fun when you always win."
Roland was silent. He had likely never realized just how busy I had been in Wainwright or how I saw things. He had never touched the topic before and I had never brought it up.
A puzzled expression crossed his face, "Ever since you got Heartfire? When did you get the Heartfire virus, if you don't mind me asking?"
Whoops. That one had slipped out. I shuffled my feet a bit uneasily, but I didn't think anyone here would hurt me. My voice was quiet, "I got the virus about four months ago."
Todd looked stunned, "That means that you haven't had it that much longer than me. For some reason, I thought you got it around the same time that Diane did."
Todd had been bitten almost three weeks ago. I nodded, "The changes I am seeing from the Heartfire are slowing down considerably. In another two months, you will have just as much energy as when we first met."
Todd sat back with a stunned expression. He had not realized just how fast the changes would be setting in, and having me as proof right in front of him was making his head spin. Others around the fire were listening and also looked surprised.
Roland spoke quietly, "If we offered Diane a spot in our caravan, do you think she would enjoy life on the road?"
I nodded, "Yes, she was actually planning on joining the Trader Group in Wainwright before we had to leave. She really enjoyed it."
He nodded thoughtfully, "I think I will make her the offer tonight then. I fail to see why so many settlements turn away someone like her. It isn't as if she causes trouble or refuses to work. I hated the thought of losing her, and I will be much relieved if she remains with us."
I got excited, "You mean we can stay with you?" I had grown to like Roland's group, possibly even more than Dave's Trader Group. Probably because I had spent more time with them.
He grinned at me, "If Diane accepts my offer, then yes, both of you are welcome on my team. I have already spoken with everyone else and we are happy to have you with us."
I beamed at him, "Thank you!"
This sounded too good to be true. None of his team had a problem with our glowing eyes and treated us fairly. I grinned at Todd, "I guess I get to keep on torturing you then."
He grinned at me, "I look forward to it."
Just wait until Diane found out.
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