Setting out for home with a companion by my side was something I had never imagined. Let alone the fact that said companion was a woman, my senior, and single. Thankfully I had only allowed my eyes to stray once since we had started walking, but even then I had been overcome by her beauty. Despite being in damp, semi wrinkled, muddy clothing, Kaelyn was beyond compare to all of the girls and young women I had met. Before I had never looked at women in the way that I did now towards Kaelyn. Why now all of the sudden I was I guess attracted to her was beyond me. I knew I liked girls and not boys, but I had never been interested in one like I was with Kaelyn.

My thoughts and observations of her brought an unexpected flush to my face, and I distracted myself with her clothing. Her clothing made my well used but sturdy outfit seem like rags, as she wore what appeared to be fine wool and cotton. Such a material was not cheap and had taken weeks to stitch by hand or if they had one, a sewing machine.

Even though she wore such fine clothes, her shoes were sturdy boots meant for the type and amount of traveling we would be doing. They seemed broken in but otherwise were new. A good pair of boots lasted me two years, Kaelyn would no doubt be the same.

Mile after mile we walked, silently taking in the noises from the surrounding countryside. Twice we stopped so that I could search cars that were covered in vines and had not moved in decades or centuries. Perhaps at one point the cars could have been driven, but not anymore. Their wheels were little more than thin metal plates, buried almost completely by grass, dirt, and decaying plants.

Neither stop produced anything small enough for me to consider worth taking, but it gave me the opportunity to show Kaelyn just a small part of how I and now she made a living. For her part, Kaelyn did not seem to mind these stops and asked questions not just about the cars, but of the land, the sky, and of all the animals she saw. I delighted in answering her questions even if she remembered none of it, though I had a feeling she would not easily forget. Perhaps later I would test her on some of it, to get a understanding for her learning style.

During my searches of the cars, I had to set down the pellet gun. While I could have asked Kaelyn to hold it for me, I knew that it would be uncomfortable for both of us. Even though I had asked her to come with me, and had every intention of treating her as an equal, my hasty exit from Notredram had rattled me and I was wary of giving anyone any form of weapon, even a pellet gun.

There was a slim chance she knew of the shots I had fired but I needed time to trust anyone after having nearly been hurt in Notredram. Besides I knew that she was dealing with enough as it was and I did not want her to be conflicted about this right now. Her customs and traditions were all that she knew and all that she really had outside Notredram. I was not about to take those away from her, not even if it made things easier for me.

Because I had reminded myself of the disaster I had left at Notredram, I was constantly aware of her by my side. To say that I was being distrustful would have been wrong, but I was wary. Occasionally I shifted my new pellet rifle from hand to hand, as it became uncomfortable every few miles. Kaelyn did not seem to notice or chose not to comment about it or the old military AK-47 I carried. Perhaps I would never be able to get her to carry a firearm, but at least she was not telling me to keep them away from her or out of her sight.

No rather than comment about my choice in protection, her current interests lay in the surrounding countryside. It made complete sense, being how it was a rare day in history when anyone from the Walled Cities left their city. Kaelyn made that quite clear as her questions were about things that anyone who passed through this area multiple times would understand.

Personally this area was uninteresting at this time of year, as most everything was dead. Animals were still plentiful enough, but the land itself was a dull brown as most of the plants that had been so colorful and alive just a few months ago were now dead and rotting into soil. Trees naked without their leaves stood in clumps and alone, stark reminders that winter was coming. I much preferred the Deep Woods where things were different, with plants blooming even in the dead of winter.

Thinking about the abundance of the Deep Woods, reminded me of the slip Shaw had given me. The slip I would look at later, as I did not want to think about Notredram right now. My only goal was to get home and prepare for the winter trapping season, along with getting Kaelyn settled in. Digging for herbs either in the winter or this spring could wait until my new companion was ready and able to help. Until then I was more than happy to ease Kaelyn into her new life, which did not currently include locating herbs or preparing traps for trapping in the winter. Going from a life in Notredram to a life here in the Outlands was not something that one could do in any short amount of time or without difficulty.

Trapping brought into question what I was going to do with my newly acquired pellet gun. Winter was the best time to trap, and I probably was not going to be making the journey to any of the Walled Cities before spring. But was I going to keep the thing for myself or would it be better if I gave it to my nephew? Most of the animals I trapped in the winter froze to death in the traps, and unless I saw tracks or some movement I did not normally actively hunt animals in the winter.

What exactly I was going to do with the rifle I had yet to decide. Yesterday when I had bought it from the clerk I had been thinking of both my nephew and trapping. Having a small caliber weapon that could kill any of the animals I normally trapped was the main reason I wanted it for myself. At the same time my nephew was old enough to learn how to shoot and could begin to hunt animals around the farm. Perhaps I could compromise with him until I could find a second one and eventually a third for his sister.

Before I could think about the subject more, Kaelyn let out a cry of surprise as a fox chased a rabbit across the path in front of us. All I was able to see of it was the bushy red tail as it disappeared into the grass as quickly as it appeared.

Knowing that she had never seen animals so wild and free, I stopped and explained, "Relax. It was just a fox. Nothing to worry about. It will not harm us, unless we try to back in into a corner or I catch it in a trap come this winter. Today was its lucky day. "

My statement bought me a confused look as she cautiously asked, "You would kill such a creature?"

Not in the least bit shocked by her anxiety and shock, I politely explained, "Yes. I make most of my income trapping animals and selling their fur to merchants. Notredram pays a fair price for such fur and they make clothing out of it. Surely you have heard of Shaw, the merchant? I traded with him yesterday and he was wearing a coat made of wolf skins that I had sold to him. Your people make some of the most exquisite if not a little excessively formal garments. Personally I see no need in such formality but I am always pleased to see that the furs I trade are put to good use."

Whatever I had been expecting as a reaction, I was surprised when her breath hitched at the mention of Shaw. Her reply was less revealing as she politely replied, "Yes they do. I would not expect you to understand why we dress so formally, nor do I even understand it myself. But do you not save any of your catch for your own needs? I only ask as I have no cold weather clothing with me and I know that when winter comes the snow we experienced yesterday will be a fond memory compared to what we will have to deal with."

The reason for her reaction to Shaw's name I could puzzle out later, much as it intrigued me. For now, as she pointed out, I needed to figure out Kaelyn's clothing situation. My sister had such winter clothes, but they were nothing as fine as what Kaelyn would expect, nor would I want her to wear such if we went to a city in the winter. I could easily trap enough fox, badger, wolf, and wolverine to get her such clothing but I wanted better for her. Moose, elk, deer, or the rare caribou that lived to the north would not do either. Hard as it would be, I wanted to get a bison or bear for her to use as a winter coat.

Such as task would be difficult but it would be worth it. For now though we needed to keep focused on the task of getting home. The fact that we had only stopped to watch the fox or earlier with the cars showed me how far Kaelyn could go without a break. Such a trait was desirable for the lifestyle I and now she lived.  Given time I was confident that she would grow stronger. Even now she showed that she was learning, as I noticed her eyes scanning our surroundings constantly.

Her close watch of the countryside revealed a herd of elk as they moved through a field. Both of us stopped to watch as the tall golden brown animals walked through the shoulder high grass. Among them were two bulls, but we were not close enough to our destination for me to seriously consider shooting one of them. Besides, I had no need for so much meat yet, and  with two more days of walking ahead of us the extra load would not be wise. Instead I watched as the herd continued on its journey until they disappeared among the tall grass.

Since we were already stopped, and I estimated us to have traveled two miles since the fox stopped us, and eight total since we had broken camp, I commented, "Might as well take a rest."

Kaelyn gladly relieved her pack from her shoulders, pulled out her blanket, and after setting it on the ground sat on top of it. Assuming that she only had one change of clothes in her pack, along with the fact  that the dress was expensive and would no doubt be exquisite after a good washing, I had no problem with her doing such.  With my pants already dirty and used to such abuse, after eyeing the surrounding wilderness for trouble, I settled myself on the sparse amber grass and dirt. Having ensured she had adequate food this morning, I removed only enough for myself along with a canteen of water. Before I could get a drop of the cool refreshing liquid, Kaelyn asked, "So where are we going exactly?"

Unable to contain a sudden humor at the question I chuckled before replying, "All this time, and you wait until I have taken you into the wilderness to ask where we are going? If I was to abandon you now, would you even know how to get home, or to any of the other Walled Cities?"

Drawing her eyebrows together as she glared at me, she retorted, "I was distracted. Everything is so new to me. Besides if you wanted to abandon me you would have done so by now. But to answer your question, I have heard talk that moss grows more on the north side of a tree. Being that it is one of the few things that grows year round, I can more or less navigate with it."

Unsure how to respond as I had been expecting her to say something else, my attentions were diverted as I spotted a shape in the distance. Unsure if it was a friend or trouble I calmly informed, "Kaelyn, someone or something is coming our way. I don't want you to panic, but I might have to shoot. Just stay down if it shoots back," I finished as I racked the slide of my rifle.