New Times

Dung and Cheek

Al woke up almost exactly as the sun was rising. His little mangled tree gave him a great scene as everything was momentarily basked in an orange light. When he looked down he could see a dark blue tent still below him. Fantasy probably didn't want to go on foot and he didn't think she knew how to ride a horse. With one swift movement he got down and went to the tent. He was sore, maybe that girl had some pain medicine. He peeked inside to see Fantasy sound asleep under a thin sheet layer of blankets. Somehow the she looked years younger with her eyes closed and her mouth shut. Shaking his head he kicked her side to wake her up. Needless to say, she wasn't in such a great mood when she opened her eyes.

"The hell! What time is it? Last night I really thought you would leave without me. I guess we'll see this thing out together, huh?"

"Just pack up" Al said turning away from her heading out of the tent.

"Well alright than sir, I just thought we could be friendly to each other. I mean we'll be riding on the back of the same horse you know." Fantasy grumbled.

"You bring anything like pain medicine, did you?" Al inquired causally as he reach the door flaps.

"Yes? I can get you some if you need it. You aren't injured right?

"Just give me the meds."

"Fine." She opened her bag and tossed him a small pouch of powder. He opened the bag, poring the powder in his mouth. He could feel Fantasy's eyes bore into his back. Al didn't care. He made sure that everything he had was still in his pocket. His humble stack of belongings sunk down the flimsy shirt so it looked like a v-neck with a strange angle. Fantasy came out of her tent in a pristine leather jacket and a pair of work pants. You could still see the shimmer of bracelets and other golden chains from under her jacket. If she was trying to fool a passerby into thinking that she was middle class she wasn't very convincing. Once all of Fantasy camp was back in her bag they continued moving northward.

The ride was quiet.Al thought that was a good thing .For Al the silence was a safety measure. He was probably slated for kidnapping Fantasy already. Although he hadn't seen anyone following him, that meant the only thing the police had heard about him was that shopkeeper blabbering about being robbed, and no one cared about petty theft. They rode through a charred forest with the golden compass' needle pointing straight at the N. The trees were all black, void of leaves or flowers. Everything in the so-called forest was dead, not even five years of being left alone with the rain and sun could change that. Soon the trees started thinning and they saw some farm houses on the horizon. Was this the town? He decided he'd go ask someone at the first farm he saw.

"Finally," Fantasy groaned, breaking the silence.

"What?"

"Don't you get tired of all these trees? I mean nature is great and all but I love seeing that people are still alive."

"We'll go up to one of those farms and ask what ship landed here. If its The Charlotte we will say we came for another horse and if it's The Volar just let me talk."

"Sure thing, captain" Fantasy saluted sarcastically. 

The farmhouse they rode up to was smaller, with less land then those surrounding it. He could see young wheat planted in the fields and chickens in small fenced off sections of the muddy yard. a young woman about twenty looked over her shoulder and spotted him. A bandanna held back her black silky hair and she held a rickety rake made of reclaimed metals and wood in her hand.Al slid off Capall and walked up to the edge of the fence, he waved and she walked up to him, looking at him with curiosity, leaning on her rake. 

"Is this the town The Volar passengers founded?" Al asked earnestly. The girl responded in an accented voice.

"No, this town's residents are from the Charlotte. You thinking of somewhere else. I'm Malia, can I help you? Here on farm we have great things if you want to buy."