At the End of the Road

Epilogue: At the Beginning of the Road

Rubble crunched beneath Jane's boots as she walked the road up towards Hopeville once more. By now, the path was so familiar that she could probably have travelled there in her sleep. There, in his usual spot, was Ulysses – her lover, she supposed, although it still felt strange to call him that – gazing down at the Divide below. He turned his head to face her as she approached, gave her a nod of acknowledgement.

"See you've returned, Courier."

No doubt, to an onlooker, it would not have looked at all like a man welcoming back his beloved, but that was just how Ulysses was. Fortunately, Jane didn't mind much; after all, she reckoned, she was the one who fell in love with such a man in the first place. At least she'd succeeded in getting him to call her by name in bed, if nowhere else. Besides, most onlookers would not know Ulysses well enough to pick up on the trace of warmth in his voice, but she did.

"Thought I'd leave you all alone here? Not a chance."

She took a seat close beside him, on the cliff top; set her had down next to her.

"Hey, you changed your hair," Jane remarked. Some of the knots and patterns were subtly different; most people would never have even noticed the change.

"Saw that?" He looked surprised. "Take good eyes, good memory to see."

"Heh, well," she grinned at him. "Must be all the lookin' at you I do."

"Hmm." He did not sound displeased by this; there was a smug glint in his eyes.

"You said before, Twisted Hairs say a lot of things through the way you wear your hair, right? So what's the change mean?"

Ulysses cocked his head, looked her dead in the eye.

"Think you know that one, Courier."

Ah. Well. That managed to get her heart racing. Yeah, she remembered him mentioning something like that, how their relationships, too, were written in their hair...

"O-Oh?" Jane tried to regain her composure, ignore the heat on her cheeks. "Didn't know you were such a romantic, Ulysses."

Still, she was touched. Since they first met, their relationship had, for a long time, been rather... strange, nebulous, hard to define. It was nice to know that Ulysses, too, was coming to think of them as lovers, to put it into concrete terms. There was something comforting about it. Plus, she knew well that Ulysses never did anything lightly; making such an open declaration of their relationship (well, open to the Twisted Hairs, at least) showed a great deal of feeling on his part, from a man who so rarely bared his emotions.

So despite her joking words, she snuggled into him happily, nestling her head on his shoulder. He seemed to take her meaning, the feeling behind the gesture, for he made no retort; just let her rest there, close to him, feeling his warmth beside her. Ulysses was not the most demonstrative man when it came to his own feelings, didn't ask for much physical affection outside of their bed, but he never denied her any that she wanted, let her kiss and hold him all she wished, never pushed her away.

He steadied his arm behind her to lean against, keep her stable; she took hold of it and wrapped it around her shoulders instead. He made no objection, tightening his arm around her, keeping her close. They sat like that for a while, staring out over the Divide, content to enjoy each other's nearness and take comfort in their presence. She felt his steady breathing beside her, his strong arm around her, and finally knew peace.

"Hey, Ulysses." A long time passed before Jane finally broke the silence. "Been meanin' to ask..."

She chewed through the words, hesitation clear in her voice. Ulysses' hand was at her side; she took it in hers, idly toying with his long fingers. She'd always liked his hands, and now marvelled at how, despite the strength she knew they held, they could touch her so gently.

"Speak on it, Courier," Ulysses urged, in the face of her silence. "Not much left hidden between us, anymore."

"Right about that," Jane admitted. She twined her fingers with his, and he squeezed her hand in response – a simple gesture to most, perhaps, but from Ulysses, it was the small things that spoke volumes. She took a deep breath, and continued. "Why d'you still stay here? Ain't no place for the livin', not anymore."

"Told you, Courier." There was a melancholy note in his deep voice. "Need to see the scars made here, by Ashton spears. Not my way, to move on and forget."

"Movin' on don't mean forgettin'," Jane frowned, sneaking a glance at Ulysses' face. His eyes were downcast; looking inward, perhaps. "You never thought of leavin'? You treat stayin' here as some kinda penance you gotta do. Never thought that, 'stead of doin' penance for what's gone, it might be better to make something new?"

She felt his head lift. That got his attention.

"Have something in mind, Courier. A plan?"

She bit her lip. This was the crux of it, the heart of the matter, and to be honest, she was terrified of his refusal.

"I was thinkin," she said slowly, tracing the lines of his palm with her thumb, feeling him shiver slightly at the light touch. "We could travel, find new lands, a new home. Somewhere like the Divide was to you, maybe."

"Believe such a place exists?" His voice was slow, careful. She squeezed his hand; whether to reassure him or herself, she wasn't entirely certain.

"Yeah. Or at least, I reckon if there ain't yet, we can make one. Walk the earth, find somewhere good, somewhere right, maybe somewhere the war ain't touched too deep. Maybe even have some kids some day, teach 'em the ways of Twin Mothers and Twisted Hairs. Ain't quite rebuildin', but somethin' in that area."

"Build a new tribe?" he said. His tone was still measured, but she could tell that she'd piqued his interest. She nodded.

"Hell, could be the beginnings of a new nation, even. There's somethin' I know you'd like. If just one courier can build a nation, imagine what two could do."

"Hm." He hummed thoughtfully.

"But," Jane continued. "I ain't gonna do this without you. Ain't nobody I'd rather do this with – 'specially not the 'rebuildin'' part," she added with a saucy grin, and he let out a low chuckle. "You wanna stay here, I can live with that; ain't gonna leave without you. Just want you to think on it, is all."

Ulysses was silent for a long time as he considered it. In the distance, the storm winds howled, the Divide sun burned, the fires flickered.

Finally, he said:

"All right."

And together, the two Couriers left the Divide.