She tumbled through the woods, barely able to keep her feet moving toward the campfire she had seen from up on the hill. Sharp branches scratched her in the darkness, but she hadn't seen another person in this forest in days. Most stuck to paths, but Lisa was trying to make her own way. As a freak of nature, she had no choice but the life of a spinster, so she decided to find a new place to live far from the humiliation that her hometown turned out to be.
Still, she missed contact and conversation, and her deformity was easy enough to hide under most circumstances. She wanted to see who else was camping so far off the path, and she managed to hurry her tired feet when she spotted light ahead. She stopped when she could make out two men, whose attention had been drawn by her clumsy approach and stared toward her if not at her. One of them was quite handsome, with long hair tied back and a curious smile.
"Somebody there?" he called. His voice was deep, inviting, and the shiver that passed through Lisa was troubling. She considered backing off. "We won't hurt you. Are you hungry?"
Lisa's stomach growled. She hadn't eaten for hours. She approached cautiously, climbing over a limb and pushing through brambles as she stumbled into the clearing and the warm glow of their fire. The handsome man hopped to his feet, and the other, less handsome man hopped up a few seconds later.
"Have a seat," the first man offered his hand to assist her. "I'm Evan and this is Dean."
"Lisa," she said as she carefully sat next to the fire.
"Here," Dean said as she handed her some bread.
Lisa nodded thanks, glancing to the side as Evan sat next to her. "What brings you so far off the path?" she asked.
"I could ask you the same," Evan replied. "It looks like you've been cutting some rough terrain."
"I saw your campfire from up on that rise," she said with her mouth full, nodding to the south. She accepted more food as Dean provided it, "Mm, thank you. It was dark, and I guess I wasn't as careful as I should have been."
"Where are you from?" Evan asked.
Lisa nodded south again, shoving warm roasted roots into her mouth.
"Why'd you leave?"
"Why are you asking so many questions?" Lisa muttered.
"Curiosity and conversation," Evan said with a shrug. "How about this one: where are you headed?"
"Where are you headed?" she asked back, annoyed with his prying.
"Northwest right now," he answered. "Are you questing for the tournament?"
"No," she said. "Why would you think that?"
Evan shrugged, his face pointed a little down, but his eyes were intense in their gaze on hers. "You have the look of running from something that you can't escape."
"Are you one of those Waren mind-readers?" she asked warily.
"I hardly have to be, with responses like that," he assured her with a grin. "They think there's something wrong with you?"
"There is," she began angrily, but she really didn't want to get into it. She shook her head, "So where are you from, Evan? What made you decide to leave your home?"
"Well, I am from War, and I'm on Passion's Journey," Evan admitted. "That's where we leave the island to find love."
"Why?" Lisa asked. "Why not find love on your own island?"
"You know of Waren mind-readers, but not the curse of sons?" Evan scoffed. "The women on War were all brought from somewhere else, only boys are born there."
She had met only one Waren, a man and his wife moving back to his home island with an infant daughter. She looked at Dean as she chewed her last bite. "Are you from there, too?"
"No," said Dean. "We met in my hometown."
"Oh? He convinced you to leave town?"
"I wanted to leave for a long time before he arrived, he gave me the courage," Dean said. He glanced at his friend, who avoided eye contact bashfully.
"Why did you want to leave?" Lisa asked.
Dean shuffled uncomfortably, frowning. "I didn't like how I was being treated."
"They made him feel like a freak," Evan said. "There are plenty of places more tolerant of differences, people who will appreciate them. You were brave to decide on your own to escape a situation that was bad for you."
Lisa blushed furiously, shaking her head. The decision had been made for her. She wondered intensely what else he knew, and how he might use the information.
"You don't have to feel bad for the way you are," Evan assured he softly, taking her hand. "Every difference between us is a gift, in the eyes of some." His golden-brown eyes searched hers, she couldn't look away. Her heart was beating harder, faster. She didn't know if it was fear or excitement. "Why did you leave your hometown?"
"It's still none of your business," she insisted, cheeks burning with shame at the mere thought. "It's... it's very... personal."
"No problem," Evan relented, raising his hands. "You don't have to tell me."
"What does that mean?" Lisa asked, the hair on her neck bristling. "You already know?"
"I think I have a pretty good idea, and to me it seems an amazing gift. I'm pretty sure Dean will consider it even more so."