A/N- So, I'm starting a new short story, but real life has stopped me from fully writing it out at the moment. But here's chapter one, just to whet your appetite.
She was just cleaning up after her work with the children that day, ready to begin the walk to her large hut where she had been living for… such a very long time.
Suddenly, she saw a flash just past the trees, yet no clouds in the sky. Then, just as suddenly, she heard voices on the previously empty road.
"River, are you sure this is where we're supposed to meet them?"
"Of course I'm sure. I'm not him you know. I actually do get where I mean to go."
"It just seems… sort of middle of nowhereish. No, you're right. This is exactly where we're meant to be."
She came upon the speakers of the voices: a man with sandy blonde hair and a lanky form, and a woman with mesmerizing eyes and voluptuous curves.
The woman carried a blaster at her side, the man a small kit. One Earth humans once used to haul medical supplies, in a time long, long ago, she thought wistfully.
"Can I help you with something?" she asked as she came upon them, smiling nervously.
"Wha- oh! No, dear. We're just… passing through. Waiting for our ride."
"A ride? Out here? You're a little lost aren't you? Not many vehicles can make it here with these roads, and even then you'd need a mad man to try. The paths to this spot are treacherous and full of holes and danger if you don't know what you're doing. In fact, how did you two come here?"
"Well, first of all, we were under the impression no one else would be here. Second of all, you should meet our designated driver. Only he would make a such a dangerous, hard to reach locale a rendezvous point."
She took them in again, assessing their threat level to the multiple villages she'd adopted. Though the woman in front of her radiated warrior in every movement, she sensed the blaster would only be used if she were thoroughly provoked. But the man- his stance, sure yet reticent, spoke of a power, a soldier who lay just below the surface. And that made her more wary of him than the woman who wore her danger like a second skin.
She thought it best to secure the threat before it became one, and the man had extraordinary kind eyes, despite his strength. The woman's eyes, she realized belatedly, seemed to carry the exact same fierceness and compassion. She briefly wondered if the two of them were related.
"You're welcome to join me while you wait for this ride of yours. I live just over that hill there. Come. Please."
The two looked at each other briefly, the woman assessing her quickly, before nodding and moving forward. The man seemed to take his cues from her, and followed.