dropping into a black hole. As he worked, everything else faded away, the pain, the loss, even Gillie and his ideas of camping. His world was reduced to calculating di

proper map." Michael looked up from his sheet of paper at the thought and remembered he was

t he would not be the one compiling everything into the final map, but pushed it aside. "Maybe it'll take long

him from his world of lines and numbers and brought reality back with a heart

ach rumbled before he could voice an opinion. Reali

anaged to learn then," he told Gillie wanting

e to the first page and began questioning Gillie about the contents between bites. Gillie managed to remember the basics, but stumbled ov

Gillie. "I trust I will see you whe

llie said gett

do better then." For a second Gillie's f

The prospect seemed to delight him and Michael realized his earlier esti

lie harshly about the contents of the field guide. He had to admit that Gillie did make some progress. He now had three deadly plants and two large predators down cold in his memory.

ced a slice of some dense cake on each of the

has earned desser

e had to admit, was good. It was dense and somehow nutty even though he could find no actual nuts. It reminded him of the almond cakes he had eat

ith the Guild he became accustomed to eating foods that only sort of resembled tho

eaming smile in return. "We'll see if it s

lanterns. Realizing he was not quite tired enough for sleep, he returned to his desk, working until he could no longer keep his eyes open. Half asleep, he

m their first meeting. Her hair was piled loosely on her head and his eyes were irresistibly drawn to the slim column of her neck. He walked towards her, remembering their first conversation, h

as she was before. He began to run, certain he could catch her. Her distance remained constant. He realized she was moving, although un

o keep her in sight, even if he could not reach h

at the plants weren't the ones he remembered from the botanical garden. They were the ones from the Haven field guide. Recognizing one of

ugh his thoughts and he smiled. "Well, after the convulsions and heart palpitations anyway," he corrected. M

e took a step forward, the plants s

eryone is so scared of then?"

er long black hair had yet to gray or meet hair dye, it was wild and unkempt making her seem larger than

t held his attention. They were intense, filled wit

d him the plants turned to ash. He looked at the barren

as a