The Search for the Eoz Potion

19. Hailey and Tellis

Realizing that Tellis had been the one following her, Hailey's fear returned to anger and frustration. She assumed that when the group realized she had left, Claire explained to them what happened and Tellis decided to go looking for her. She wasn't upset with Claire for telling, and she really was not even that upset with Tellis for coming after her. Somewhere inside of her, actually, something began to soften toward Tellis at the thought of her coming to help. But she didn't understand why she had followed her in secret. Why would she not just find her and help her? Why would she follow her from the bushes to the point of chasing her? It was these things about Tellis that annoyed her, and so she did not let her feelings toward her soften too much.

"What are you doing here?" Hailey asked, startled.

"I couldn't let you leave without saying goodbye."

Tellis smiled but Hailey was not amused.

"Look," she said, "I just need to find this potion and get home."

"That's fair." Tellis shook her head in an effort to dismiss Hailey's defensiveness. "Your friend told me about your plan to look in No Man's Land. It's pretty dangerous out there and I just thought you could use some help."

"Have you been there before?"

"I've been to a lot of dark places, but even I've never been there" Tellis said before becoming lost in memories for a moment. Then, without warning, her tone became jarringly cheerful again. "So this will be a new experience for both of us."

"Great," Hailey said, rolling her eyes. "I'm fine on my own if you want to head back to the others."

"Oh no, this should be interesting. I've always wanted to see what's out there. And you're going to need help crossing the river."

Hailey didn't want Tellis traveling with her, but she also knew that there was no way to convince her not to. She planned on letting her tag along for a little while and then finding some way to ditch her later. She just did not see what help she could be for her, and actually worried that she might slow her down. Tellis was old and weak and could not move as quickly as she could. Hailey had easily outrun her when she was chasing her.

There was more to it, though, than just that. In spite of any possible easing of tension between them, Hailey genuinely did not like being around Tellis. She made her feel like a child. When she agreed to let her go with her, Tellis smiled a cartoonish smile. It reminded Hailey of the way kindergarten teachers act toward their students. Something about all her interactions with Tellis made Hailey feel like she was mocking her. She didn't seem to take anything she said or did seriously. It reminded her too much of her parents, too much of her mother, of the way she would expect the world of her - good grades, helpful around the house, respectful to others - and then treat her like a baby when she didn't meet those expectations. If Tellis was going to be there, Hailey wanted her to yell at her, to tell her she thought she was making a terrible mistake. She wanted to know what she really thought. But, just like with her mother, she couldn't get there.

As much as she was growing to dislike her, however, Hailey was desperate to ask Tellis about Claire, to make sure she was okay. But they walked in silence except for every now and again when Tellis would point out things in the Garden that she thought might be interesting to Hailey - a rare kind of tree, interesting animal tracks, or which plants they could and could not eat. They walked on this way for a while, Hailey leading the way as Tellis continued to find things off in different directions to point out and explain to her. Tellis never tried to overtly direct her or give advice on what to do or where to go, but the things she pointed out to Hailey as they walked were strategically picked. Once she spotted a tall tree surrounded by Yllop Flowers buried under the overgrown grass and ran over to it. She started to explain them to Hailey before she stopped her and told her Zack already had. Then they continued on in that direction. A little while later, Tellis pointed a little bit south and said that she thought she heard something and ran off in the direction of the sound. Hailey followed and then they continued south as Tellis slowly let her regain the lead.